Harwich Zoning Board Clears Waivers for 60-Unit Affordable Housing Project

HARWICH — June 11, 2026 — Harwich Zoning Board of Appeals advances 60-unit Penrose affordable housing permit toward a final vote, setting June 25 as the last public hearing. The board spent nearly four hours at its June 11 session working through a list of waivers and draft conditions for the comprehensive permit filed by Penrose LLC as agent for the Harwich Affordable Housing Trust, which would build 14 townhome-style structures at a site accessed from Queen Anne Road. Chair Brian Sullivan directed approval of more than 15 waivers from the town's zoning bylaw by straw poll, adding previously missing waivers under Sections 325-102-B1 and 325-131, the latter covering outdoor lighting between midnight and 6 a.m. The board confirmed that all incoming fill material — roughly 10,600 cubic yards — must be tested and certified clean before delivery. A sharp debate over affordability duration ended without a vote: 15 of 60 units would be affordable at 80 percent of area median income in perpetuity, while the remaining 45 units at 30, 50, and 60 percent AMI would carry a 50-year restriction. Applicant representative Carmen Chong of Penrose argued that perpetuity restrictions beyond those terms pose a financing risk given the tax-credit structure of the deal. A question about secondary access to Route 124 via Bassett's Lane was closed when Town Counsel Amy Quesnel and consultant Paul Haverty said the board cannot legally require the applicant to use property it does not control.