By Carol Britton Meyer

At the request of the Affordable Housing Committee, the select board last week approved a motion to direct the town to prioritize affordable housing and to investigate potential locations, with the goal of presenting “at least one property” for consideration at the May 5 annual town meeting.

the massachusetts Housing partnership compiles data on municipal housing trust funds and their relationship to the community preservation act. visit www.housingtoolbox.org for more information.

In addition, the AHC asked the board to support the creation of an affordable housing trust, which would allow more leeway in taking advantage of potential low- and moderate-income affordable housing opportunities that might come up in-between town meetings – also in time to include as a warrant article in the spring. The board was in support.

Such a trust would be linked to Hull’s Community Preservation Act funds, with about $500,000 currently available from the annual required 10% allocation of funds to the community housing category.

“Creating affordable housing is difficult, and we believe that creating a trust would help the town accomplish something that we haven't been able to do in many years,” AHC Chair Cynthia Koebert told the select board. “Other communities – including Hingham, Scituate, Cohasset, and Norwell – have trusts and are developing affordable housing as a result.”

Funding besides the CPA could come from charitable donations, grants, and other sources.

Trusts not funded through the town budget

“We’re talking about workforce housing, not public housing,” Koebert noted. “You need to have an income of $100,000 a year to afford a house [in the current market].”

Select board Chair Irwin Nesoff said that affordable housing trusts aren’t funded through the town budget.

“The primary source is CPA funds, grants, and fundraising,” he said. “If the town has surplus money, it could be allocated to the trust.”

Using CPA funds for affordable housing doesn’t take away funds from open space, recreation, and historic preservation projects, because the 10% annual requirement applies to these categories as well.

“The Community Preservation Committee has parked a lot of money [toward affordable housing] year after year, waiting for something like this to happen,” select board member Greg Grey said. “There’s close to $500,000 sitting there doing nothing, which gives us the trigger to be able to do something.”

Ultimately, the board unanimously approved moving forward with an eye toward an affordable housing trust warrant article for the May 5 town meeting. The AHC has applied for a grant to help establish such a trust if approval is gained.

The AHC also earlier asked the select board “to undertake due diligence to designate the parcel at N Street and Nantasket Avenue for disposition and redevelopment as affordable housing,” Koebert said.

This follows a grant-funded study by a consultant to identify town-owned parcels that might be appropriate for affordable housing. The AHC also received a municipal engagement grant for technical assistance in educating the community about “what affordable housing is and why it’s needed in Hull,” Koebert told the board.

While supportive of creating more affordable housing, there are a number of issues with the N Street and Nantasket Avenue location, board members noted.

“That spot will get more congested” once the town hall moves to the Memorial School, Grey noted, as it is sometimes used for parking for the L Street fields complex. The property is the site of the former Bayside Theater, which later became the Lighthouse Assembly of God church. It was acquired by the town with intention of building a new library.

Chair Irwin Nesoff recommended the board “look into what’s involved and potential other needs the town might have for that parcel.”

That parcel “is a bit of a blight,” Koebert said. “We also looked into possibly using another lot, but there are some title issues.”

Hull's affordable housing at a low 1.6%

She also noted that there are only one or two other towns of Hull’s size that have less than 2% affordable housing. Hull is currently at 1.6%. The state threshold is 10% affordable housing from among a community’s entire housing stock.

Earlier this year, the AHC introduced South Shore Habitat for Humanity staff to the select board as a possible connection for creating affordable housing in town.

“Habitat is still interested in building affordable home ownership housing but needs for the town to designate one or more parcels for this – which could then lead to an RFP [request for proposals],” Koebert said. “We’re trying to get our ducks lined up for the next town meeting so we don't miss an opportunity.”

Nesoff – who is the select board liaison to the AHC – thanked the committee for “the incredible amount of work and diligence you’ve put into this [effort]. It’s invaluable.”

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