Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Seasonal Community Designation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Otis planners weigh "seasonal community" designation as way to fund water and sewer projects
Summary
Planning Board members debated adopting a state "seasonal community" designation that would make infrastructure funding and housing tools available to Otis; board agreed to draft bullet points on which tools to accept and keep the item on future agendas.
Mark Anthony, chair of the Town of Otis Planning Board, brought a lengthy discussion of a state "seasonal community" designation to the board on May 11, 2026, saying the status could unlock tools for infrastructure improvements such as water and sewer.
The designation, several board members said, would provide options the town could choose to use but would not automatically impose tax exemptions. "You don’t have to do everything available through the plans," Committee member Hal Kobrin said, adding that the town could pick and choose which programs it wanted to apply.
Mark Anthony said the town could make town-owned land available to a housing trust to encourage development by private builders and developers, and stressed that any residential tax exemption (RTE) tied to seasonal-community programs would be a separate choice the town could decline. "This RTE does not increase taxes, it just shifts the burden," Anthony said, and noted the town has had the RTE available since the 1980s without adopting it.
Committee member Ross Knowles raised concerns about local character and applicability: "We are so different from the cape, we would not want to do things the same as towns on the cape," he said, questioning whether seasonal-community tools developed for other regions fit Otis. Members responded that the town could tailor which tools to accept and that some measures could be regionalized with neighboring towns.
During public comment, David D., who identified himself as a homeowner, marina owner and homebuilder, said attracting families and labor would be valuable to town businesses but cautioned that the RTE is divisive. "If we can do anything to bring in families that would be great, RTE is very divisive and does not increase tax revenue," he said, and suggested the board review Stockbridge’s housing trust as a model.
The board agreed to keep the seasonal-community designation on the agenda, prepare model bylaws and a clear set of recommended tools for public review, and discuss the topic with surrounding towns. Board members said there is time to prepare materials before the next May town meeting so residents can consider the options with concrete examples.
Next steps: the Planning Board will draft bullet points on which seasonal-community tools would benefit Otis, produce model bylaw language for review, and continue discussion at future meetings before any formal vote.
