Affordable Housing Documents and Presentations

There are numerous studies and plans that have been developed to deal with housing issues and numerous efforts to inform the community and general public of needs and actions. The Town’s studies, reports, and presentations are complemented by efforts on the regional and national level.  A few key documents and presentations are listed below with links.

• Basic housing information about the Town of Orleans is summarized in Housing Profile: Orleans, produced by the Cape Cod Commission.
• Housing profiles for the County as a whole as well as other towns on the Cape can be found here.
  
• On November 10, 2022, The Orleans Citizens Forum hosted a presentation and discussion on “Understanding Orleans’ Housing Problem.”  A video recording of the event can be viewed, as well as presentations by Fran McClennen of the Affordable Housing Committee on types of housing needs facing Orleans, by Hadley Luddy, Chief Executive Officer, Orleans Homeless Prevention Council (HPC), who put a face on the housing and financially stressed residents of the Lower and Outer Cape, and by Marsha Allgeier, Affordable Housing Coordinator for the Town of Orleans, who spoke to the challenges we face providing affordable and attainable housing, including available government subsidies, other possible incentives and strategies, and ongoing planning and efforts needed.  Lisa Simundson, Executive Director, Orleans Chamber of Commerce, also spoke on the effect on local businesses. 
• Presentation to Orleans Advisory Bodies: On February 1, 2022, Orleans boards, commissions, and committees were invited to a presentation to learn about the affordable housing problem and what Orleans’ various advisory and regulatory bodies can do the assist with solutions. The Community Development Partnership’s Andrea Aldana presented Housing 101 to provide background on the nature and causes of the affordable housing problem on the Cape. Marsha Allgeier, Orleans Affordable Housing Coordinator, presented on what Orleans has done, strategies for the future, and what the advisory bodies can do.
• Orleans Community Housing Study – December 2017: this comprehensive study of the demographic and housing characteristics in Orleans formed the basis of much of the action taken between 2017 to the present time. 
• Guiding Principles of Affordable Housing Committee and Affordable Housing Trust (2019), including Ten Year Goals and Strategies: based on the 2017 Community Housing Study, the Town adopted a ten-year plan to produce 100 units of affordable housing from 2018 to 2028.
• The Orleans Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2006, has long recognized the importance of affordable housing to the Town. 
• Cape Cod Commission Housing Market Assessment - Donahue Update(2022-2023)
• Cape Cod Commission Regional Policy Plan: The Cape Cod Commission Act requires the preparation of a Regional Policy Plan (RPP) that provides regional planning policies and objectives to guide development and protect the region’s resources. The plan must identify critical resources and management needs, include a growth policy, contain regional goals, and provide a policy for coordinating regional and local planning efforts. The 2018 Update of the Regional Policy Plan was approved as Barnstable County Ordinance 19-01. It was amended in 2021 to incorporate goals, objectives, and actions  to address climate change.
• Cape Cod Commission Regional Housing Market Analysis and Ten-Year Forecast of Housing Supply and Demand (Crane Associates), 2017: The Cape Cod Commission contracted with the consultant Crane Associate to analyze housing and economic data, investigate needs, and project needs over 10 years. 
• Creative Approaches to Moderate Density: Filling the Missing Middle on Cape Cod:  In 2018 Union Studio and Cape Cod Commission held a series of workshops at a number of locations, including Orleans, to discuss how to increase housing density and diversify the housing stock to meet housing needs, while respecting community character and environmental resources.
• Condominium Purchase & Resale Study, 2009 (PDF): In July 2008, JTHaskell Consulting was charged with the task of helping the Town of Orleans to understand the local condominium market and assess opportunities to purchase condominium units for either resale to qualified first- time buyers or rental to tenants as affordable housing, as a potentially cost-effective way to meet the Town’s affordable housing goals without increasing overall housing density -- and provide affordable units more quickly than by new construction.  The report made recommendations for actions or an approach to establish a successful program for the purchase and resale or rental of condominiums based upon: an assessment of existing inventory, ownership, turnover, and demographics of owners, buyers, and tenants in Orleans. 
• Orleans Pennrose Market Study:  Each affordable housing developer is required to do a market study of housing units it is building to project the market for the units at the various income levels. This study, done by Pennrose, was completed in 2021, and provides a recent look at the market in the catchment area of Orleans and surrounding towns.
• Flyers/Fact Sheets: Occasionally the Orleans Affordable Housing Committee produces information sheets to describe affordable housing projects and why they should be supported. The first was produced to distribute at Town Meeting in 2021, in support of the Pennrose/CC5 project.