Harwich Housing Committee Restarts, Sets Sights on Attainable Workforce Housing

HARWICH — March 31, 2026 — Harwich Housing Committee reorganizes and recommits to workforce housing after months of inactivity. The four-member panel — Chair Matt Hemian, Mark Bowden, Anthony DeMauro, and Ellen Collins — convened March 31 for its first meeting in roughly four months, agreeing to concentrate on "missing middle" attainable housing rather than the lower-income Chapter 40B work handled by the Harwich Affordable Housing Trust. DeMauro called the refocus overdue, saying the committee had "got away from" its original Select Board charge from roughly two years ago. Members flagged Harwich's failure to opt into the state's Seasonal Communities designation — leaving it as one of only two Cape Cod towns without the status — as a priority to resolve, noting at least one round of funding has already been missed. Hemian confirmed that two structurally complete affordable housing projects, at Bank Street and West Harwich, remain unoccupied while the Housing Assistance Corporation of Cape Cod works through the required deed-restriction certification paperwork. The committee set its next meetings for April 14 and May 12, both at 6 p.m.