FY 2003 Affordable Housing Initiatives

Property Tax Exemption for Affordable Year-round Rental Housing signed into law. Requires acceptance at May 6, 2003 Election. No deed restrictions. Rental Properties Only. Low Income Renters Only.

On December 19, 2002, Acting Governor Jane Swift signed into law Chapter 408 of the Acts of 2002, to allow the Town of Provincetown to offer a property tax exemption available to owners of housing units that are rented on a year-round basis to low income households at rents (including utilities) not exceeding HUD limits for low income households. The act requires acceptance by the voters at the May 6, 2003 annual town election in order to take effect. The bill-- Senate Bill No. 2325-- was a home rule petition filed by the April 1, 2002 Special Town Meeting for special state legislation. Following final enactment by both the House and Senate, the bill was placed before the Governor for signature on December 9, 2002 to become law. And we've already identified as many as 40 units which would take advantage of this program once it's approved by our voters at the May 2003 annual town election. Read the program description. Questions? Ask the Assessor.

Board of Selectmen's Housing Goals. The Board of Selectmen's FY 2003 Town-wide policy goals including the following

1. Affordable Housing
1.1. Affordable Year-round Rental Housing: Develop and implement strategies for increasing the supply of affordable year-round rental housing units in Provincetown, including Senate Bill 2325's proposed property tax exemption
1.2. Increase the Percentage of Affordable Units in Provincetown. Develop and implement strategies for increasing the percentage of affordable housing units in Provincetown to at least 10%;
1.3. Affordable Housing Legislative Initiatives: pursue home rule legislation for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, increasing the Land Bank share for affordable housing from 10% to 35%, and substituting the Community Preservation Act for the Land Bank (House Bills 5057,5061)
1.4. Affordable Housing permit enforcement: create viable methods of enforcing affordable housing policy infractions and permit violations after construction is complete; ensure that affordable housing gets built
1.5. Affordable Housing Task Force: establish a task force for a roundtable discussion of strategies to address affordable housing needs in the community on a year-round and seasonal basis.

Affordable Housing Initiatives Approved by Town Meeting. Voters at the April 1, 2002 Special and Annual Town Meetings approved several initiatives which seek to address affordable housing including

• Cape End Manor Care Campus proposal, which would construct a skilled nursing care facility with 72 beds, add affordable assisted living units, and-- upon completion of the new facility, make the current Cape End Manor building available for reuse as elderly housing. Click for details.
• Property tax exemption for affordable year-round rental housing was approved in a home rule petition, filed as Senate Bill 2325. This bill was passed by the State Senate on September 9, 2002. See information below
• The adoption of a local option procedureto return tax title properties to productive use as affordable housing pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2002.
• By an overwhelming vote, voters filed home rule legislation, which tries again to make the 3% property tax surcharge a more perfect fit for Provincetown-this time, by filing home rule legislation which would allow our voters to substitute the better-fitting Community Preservation Act for the Land Bank. More information below.
  

While the Commonwealth reports that Provincetown's percentage of affordable year-round housing units increased from 3.19% in 1997 to 6.55% in 2001 [from 76 to 135 units], the U.S. Census finds that the number of year-round housing units in Provincetown declined by 13.6%, or 324 units-- from 2,385 in 1990 to 2,062 in 2000. This is because, while total housing units increased by 88, the number of seasonally occupied units increased by 412. Thus, Provincetown's efforts to increase affordable year-round housing opportunities must continue.

Return Tax Title Properties to Productive Use as Affordable Housing. STM Article 10 accepted Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2002, which allows properties in tax title to be reused for affordable housing purposes upon terms and conditions negotiated between the Town and the property owner subject to a local by-law also approved by the voters. Read a summary of the legislation. Read the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's Informational Guideline Release describing how this program works.

Land Bank Amendments for Provincetown

Substitute Community Preservation Act for Cape Cod Land Bank Act Allow Provincetown Voters to Choose How to Spend their 3% Property Tax Surcharge

Last year, Town Meeting approved the filing of home rule legislation to amend the Land Bank to allow more than 10% of our Land Bank funds to be used for affordable housing purposes. That legislation-House Bill No. 4144-has been blocked, and its passage now seems unlikely. But Provincetown's affordable housing crisis has not averted, so an alternative strategy is proposed. If the Town cannot obtain needed legislative amendments to the Land Bank Act, it should consider trading in the Land Bank for something better-- the Community Preservation Act [Chapter 267 of the Acts of 2000].This proposal is not as simple as it sounds, however, since there is no mechanism by which the Town can "unaccept" the Land Bank and substitute the CPA in its place. But that is the proposal-to substitute Provincetown's acceptance of the Land Bank Act for acceptance instead of the Community Preservation Act, and use our 3% property tax surcharge for the purposes of the CPA.By approving ATM Article 15, voters filed a new home rule legislation which would, if passed, allow our voters to approve a ballot question allowing Provincetown to substitute the better-fitting Community Preservation Act for the one-size-does-not-fit-all Land Bank. The Community Preservation Act requires at least 10% to be spent on open space; we've already committed 60% of those funds toward open space. It requires a minimum of 10% be spent on affordable housing: our Land Bank special act established 10% as the maximum. The CPA requires another 10% for historic preservation-a timely topic for Provincetown this year! FAQs about the CPA.