Harwich CPC prepares Town Meeting defense after Select Board rejects housing articles

HARWICH -- March 12, 2026, Harwich Community Preservation Committee vows to fight for housing articles after Select Board rejection. The committee met March 12 and responded to the Select Board's votes earlier that week against recommending the Lower Cape Housing Institute funding request and both Penrose project warrant articles, with the Penrose items receiving a 0-to-5 vote against support; the Affordable Housing Trust seed-money article narrowly survived at 3-to-2. Members described the break as the first time in years the Select Board had disregarded the committee's deliberations, with one member saying the pressure "was coming from elsewhere." The committee agreed to draft written justification statements for each contested article before the April meeting and to notify all applicants to attend the May 4 Annual Town Meeting prepared to defend their requests. Separately, a member reported that three provisions of a Beacon Hill CPA bill that had alarmed the statewide coalition were removed before the legislation advanced to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.