TOWN COUNCIL | May 15, 2025

Watch the meeting. AI supported summary below. Corrections welcome.

The Town Council meeting covered a wide range of topics, primarily focusing on zoning, housing, and budgetary matters. It received reports and recommendations from two Ad Hoc Subcommittees and addressed state mandates to the ADU ordinance.

The meeting began with standard procedural elements: roll call, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a moment of silence dedicated to fallen police officers. Public comment included updates on the Centerville Memorial Day parade and a briefing on the town's progress towards Green Communities status.

The Town Manager's communications, available online, covered topics such as beach sticker issuance, the senior/veteran tax work off program, and the ongoing Green Gateway City program, which provides free trees to Hyannis residents.

There was an announcement that nomination papers will be available for anyone who would like to run for Town Council office. There are six town counselor seats up for election in Precincts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12.

Ad Hoc Committees Reports

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to presentations from two ad hoc committees.

The Committee to Assess and Recommend Strategies for Housing Creation presented four key recommendations:

• a home rule petition for a transfer fee on high-value home sales to fund affordable housing;
• utilizing town assets (land and buildings) for affordable housing;
• prioritizing funding and hiring a dedicated housing staff person; and,
• creating a regulatory structure for short-term rentals.

Several Councilors discussed interest in moving these recommendations forward and not losing momentum.

When Rick Presby took the chair one of the things he said is we need to work on things that actually can be passed And I took that to heart. I think a lot of us did to look for practical things because we've been going over this issue for I don't know how many years...So I think some of these can be done...they can be moved forward in an expeditious manner and...really helping our our ability to provide affordable housing in Barnstable

How do we not lose the momentum?

The Committee to Review and Assess Zoning and the Town’s Use of Regulatory Agreements offered recommendations to improve the quality of life in Barnstable's villages, focusing on downtown Hyannis zoning (parking, building heights, district boundaries), inclusionary affordable housing, zoning enforcement, industrial land preservation, and short-term rental regulations.

The committee strongly stress the need for the town to address the current problems with zoning and other enforcement issues in order to maintain the community standards and quality of life in the town's neighborhoods.

...the community's need for truly affordable housing and not just more market rate housing...

...we can get some of those commercial vehicles parking in areas they are appropriate for parking and not in people's backyards...

...strong sentiment expressed by residents to preserve single family only residential zoning where it exists...

I'd like to say I've been on a lot of committees and this was by far the best. It's impactful, very civil, and very diverse. And when you look at the committee, there was somebody from every socioeconomic part of life, just about every village, and everybody with a different life story.

We have to keep in mind not only affordable housing, but the residents that are here, especially in Hyannis. Hyannis is a war zone from 3:00 to 6:00 at night.

A dissenting voice argued that proposed zoning changes disproportionately burdened Hyannis residents. Several councilors noted the importance of respecting and protecting quality of life for current Hyannis residents.

Both Committees recommend that the Town address short-term rentals in connection with local housing needs.

So, you had two very different groups of people with different backgrounds coming back to you and the council with similar recommendations.

Changes to Barnstable's ADU Rules to Conform to a New State Mandates on Local Zoning

The Barnstable Town Council held a public hearing to amend its Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) code to comply with a new state mandate, the state's Affordable Homes Act. The Council debate centered on whether to maintain the town's year-round rental requirement for ADUs. While town's are permitted to require year-round rentals, the state Attorney General's office had previously advised against such restrictions in a town off Cape Cod.

The Town Attorney cautioned the Council that an Attorney General's opinion about community housing needs in East Bridgewater MA would be the same as community housing needs in Barnstable, MA. There was discussion about Barnstable's long-standing and compelling need for year-round rentals and the Massachusetts' Governors Report about the use of homes on Cape Cod as short-term rentals, leaving its housing stock vacant for much of the year.

Council members debated the merits of a year-round requirement versus allowing flexibility for shorter-term rentals, acknowledging the need for year-round housing but also the community's reliance on seasonal workers and tourism. Concerns were raised about the enforceability of any restrictions beyond prohibiting short-term rentals (less than 31 days).

The Council voted to amend the ADU ordinance in light of the new state mandates.

These changes include law to:

• Remove Barnstable's prior year-round rental requirement that ADUs be rented as year round housing; it now prohibits rentals only shorter than 31 days.
• Allow for one ADU per lot, with no special permits for additional units.
• Allow ADUs larger than 900 square feet only in existing structures, with a maximum size of 1200 square feet, subject to a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
• Remove Barnstable's prior requirement that one of the units be owner occupied.

The council delegated to the town attorney the task of cleaning up the formatting and renumbering of the amended ordinance.

The debate highlighted the tension between the state's mandate and the town's desire to address its specific needs and maintain community character.

Other Matters

The council also reviewed and approved the minutes of the May 1st meeting and heard a presentation from the Director of Finance on the Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget. This budget aims to maintain financial resiliency, preserve core services, stay within Proposition 2 ½ limits, and continue investing in capital infrastructure. The budget projects a 4.5% increase, largely driven by school spending and municipal operations. Significant discussion also involved the authorization of two Tax Increment Exemption Agreements for new market-rate residential rental units, with debate centering on the level of tax exemption offered and the balance between incentivizing market-rate housing and increasing affordable housing options.

The meeting concluded with a vote to continue the public hearing on a proposed cannabis overlay district in Hyannis to a later date.