An architect’s rendering of Scittery Woods Partners’ proposed workforce housing development in Falmouth. Contributed / Scittery Woods Partners
Falmouth residents told the Town Council last week that they are concerned about the location, safety and style of a 49-unit workforce housing project the town is pursuing for Marshall Drive.
Scittery Woods Partners’ proposal calls for townhouses with four units or less each to be built on a 25-acre town-owned site behind the police department off Woods Road.
Town Manager Nathan Poore and Long-Range Planning Director Adam Causey are in the process of negotiating an agreement with the developer. The agreement should be completed by next week, Poore said, and the Town Council is expected to review it at its May 29 meeting.
The townhouses will be open concept with two bedrooms and a full bathroom on the top floor, and are intended for those working in the town, Scittery Woods architect Andy Hyland said at a May 1 council meeting.
“We’ve been looking at making homeownership more attainable,” Hyland said. “We’re not trying to create rocket science, we’re just trying to do something that works for the town.”
The townhouses could be owned by households earning up to 120% of the area median income, rental units for households earning 80% of the area median income, or a combination of both. In Falmouth, an affordable house for a household earning up to 120% of the area median income is $419,773.
“I’ve been in Falmouth since 1995. I could never afford to buy my house today,” Hyland said. “We want to provide something that would be attainable to another generation.”
Residents overwhelmingly expressed that while the project is “worthwhile” and “necessary,” the location is not right.
Safety is a concern for many residents, who said that a traffic study completed in January does not reflect traffic in the busier months.
“The studies that have been made are not accurate,” Lois Lengyel said.
The proposal also fails to comply with the recent Comprehensive Plan, John Winslow said. A draft of the Falmouth Comprehensive Plan will be available for public comment at the May 13 Town Council meeting.
The draft plan calls for housing to be located in the Falmouth growth area in downtown. It also encourages more diverse housing options.
“There’s no diverse housing here, it’s only three-story housing,” Winslow said.
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