Nahant Housing Production Plan Advisory Subcommittee Chair Michelle Capano announced an update to the town’s Housing Production Plan at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting.
An initial draft of the plan was completed last October. Since its publishing on the town website, the town has amassed feedback from residents and government committees. The plan has since been revised after taking the community response into account.
“This is Nahant’s first plan. The plan has a life expectancy of about five years,” Capano explained. “If our conditions in town change or we receive information that wasn’t included in the plan but we decide to save it for the next revision, it gives us an opportunity… it’s impossible to make it all exhaustive, so that’s why the state has put these benchmarks.”
The town named three areas of notable revision, including the Coast Guard housing, Country Club site, and clarifies all areas eligible for MBTA zoning.
The Nahant Country Club Estate is one of ten sites identified in town as a potential location for housing development. The revision now includes a recommendation that the club’s tennis courts and other green space be preserved if it is indeed developed.
One of the six original strategies for achieving the plan’s goals has been removed. It centered around balancing the town’s fiscal obligations and state zoning requirements by using a part of the Coast Guard site for affordable housing.
“The draft plan had specific recommendations for the Coast Guard site. Based on input from the public and Town entities, considerations for this site are now considered as a part of recommendation 4 concerning possibilities for publicly-owned sites to be consistent with how other publicly-owned sites are treated,” Nahant’s website reads.
According to Housing Authority member Dana Sheehan, the Housing Production Plan Advisory Subcommittee did vote unanimously to add a goal to focus on veterans housing.
The public can provide feedback on the revised document through Friday, April 19. However, Capano said that she views the current iteration as a potential final document.
“We will certainly consider anything we think is substantive to make changes,” Capano said. “But our hope is that we are prepared to have a final document.”
