By Carol Britton Meyer

The Affordable Housing Committee’s March 12 meeting will feature a presentation by a grant-funded consultant on town-owned properties that could be developed into affordable housing in cooperation with South Shore Habitat for Humanity. Town meeting authorization would be required before town-owned land could be used for this purpose.

This is considered a high priority since more than 37% of Hull residents pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to the town’s 2022 housing production plan.

Irwin Nesoff, the select board’s liaison to the AHC, has seen a draft of the presentation and thinks “it will be of interest to everybody in Hull. The study is a win-win at no cost to the town.”

Following an update from AHC Chair Cynthia Koebert and a couple of requests for its support, the select board gave approval for the AHC to work with the Massachusetts Housing Partnership – at no cost to the town – to determine the best way to create affordable housing, and for the committee to move forward with an outreach campaign to engage residents about affordable housing.

“The MHP will assist the town in moving through the process and help with the community aspect,” Nesoff said. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there about what affordable housing really is, and our town is in a housing crisis.”

The creation of more affordable housing “can’t happen without a commitment and action from the town,” Koebert said, noting that the AHC’s community outreach will continue throughout 2024. She also encouraged town officials and residents to attend the March 12 meeting.

“We’re a nine-member volunteer committee that cares deeply about this issue. There’s an urgent need for more affordable housing in Hull,” Koebert said. “It’s a difficult process that requires the support of the select board, town manager, civic organizations, and residents, and we welcome their interest and support for various approaches to address the lack of affordable housing for seniors, families, service providers, veterans, and others.”

Hull’s current affordable housing comprises 1.6% of the town’s overall housing stock, and much of it is under the control of the housing authority. The state’s affordable housing threshold for Massachusetts communities is 10%.

Chair Greg Grey praised the committee for making “great strides” in a short time. “Your work has been lightning fast,” he said.

Town Manager Jennifer Constable also commended the AHC for its commitment to affordable housing. “It’s a really solid committee, which is really comforting,” she said.

Constable also called MHP “a great resource” in working toward achieving the committee’s and the town’s goal to create more affordable housing.

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