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Town planner outlines multifamily‑housing overlay and incentives; residents urge caution in Dennisport
Summary
Planning director Paul Foley presented early ideas for a multifamily‑housing overlay focused on already‑disturbed parcels near Patriot Square and Route 6; residents and select board members pressed for clearer timelines, incentives for private owners and assurance that previous promises to Dennisport residents would be honored.
Paul Foley, the town planner, presented preliminary thinking on a multifamily‑housing overlay district on Sept. 10, telling the select board that the overlay would concentrate new units on already disturbed parcels close to transit and services rather than on undeveloped land.
Foley said the overlay is an incentive‑based tool intended to encourage redevelopment of industrial and poorly used commercial parcels — for example, parts of Patriot Square and an Ocean State Job Lot parcel — and he described design standards that would require a percentage of pervious/open space and higher‑quality streetscapes if owners opt into denser housing. "The beauty of the overlay is you're not taking away from anybody," Foley said. "You're not saying you can't do that anymore."
Board members and residents raised concerns about timing, local promises and market interest. Bob Samluck of the Affordable Housing Trust asked whether property owners around Patriot Square would be receptive; a select board member warned that the town previously told Dennisport residents the town would avoid additional town‑led real‑estate development there. Foley said the overlay is an idea in early stages and that public hearings and further outreach — including working with the Cape Cod Commission on design guidance and possible growth incentives — will follow.
Foley also flagged statutory changes and housing pressures: recent state law changes could allow development of lots long considered unbuildable, increasing the importance of directing growth to already disturbed parcels. He estimated phased outcomes depending on sewer expansion and said the overlay is likely to be a multi‑year effort tied to infrastructure improvements.
The board did not adopt any regulations or vote on the overlay at the meeting; Foley said he will continue public engagement and return with more concrete standards and possible zoning language for a future public‑hearing process.
Questions from members focused on whether to use mandatory design standards versus voluntary guidelines, how to incentivize reluctant commercial owners, and how the overlay would interact with 40B proposals; Foley and others said the overlay could help the town reach a "safe harbor" percentage for affordable units if implemented carefully.
