In a decisive move to confront Cape Cod's escalating housing crisis, the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates has officially declared a housing emergency. The resolution, passed with a 14–1 vote, urges county leadership to spearhead regional solutions and establish a working group comprising housing, environmental, and municipal leaders to recommend actionable strategies.
"This place we call home—the one so many of us were lucky to be born into or found and fell in love with—is slipping through our fingers," stated Deputy Speaker Dan Gessen of Falmouth, who introduced the resolution. "A family today must earn more than double the average income just to afford the price of an average home. That’s not just unsustainable. That is a crisis.
The resolution supports Administrator Michael Dutton’s efforts to continue a shared regional housing office providing services to towns and calls on him to create a working group of housing, environmental, and municipal leaders to recommend further actions the County can take.
Harwich Delegate Elizabeth Harder, a co-sponsor of the resolution, emphasized the importance of supporting local towns: "This is about helping towns where they find a lack.”
Mashpee Delegate Michaela Wyman-Colombo, also a co-sponsor, highlighted environmental concerns: "We’re not building our way out of this. I think it’s important to look at the environmental concerns we have and not replicate the problem that brought us here to begin with, so we don’t end up with housing that’s still unaffordable and a worse environment.
The urgency of the situation is underscored by data from the Cape Cod Commission's 2024 Regional Housing Strategy, which reveals that the median sales price of single-family homes has risen sharply, far outpacing income growth. To affordably purchase a median-priced single-family home on Cape Cod, a household must earn $210,000, while the median income in Barnstable County is just under $91,000.
To address these challenges, the Cape Cod Commission recommends several strategies, including establishing a housing land bank and a community land trust to facilitate the development of affordable housing. Additionally, the Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act introduces provisions such as the disallowing of most zoning restrictions on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in residential areas and the new Seasonal Community Designation, aimed at balancing the needs of permanent residents and seasonal visitors.
The resolution will now be presented to the Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners for consideration. As Deputy Speaker Gessen noted, "This resolution does not solve the crisis on its own, but it does one thing that those in power often struggle to do: admit that we have a problem, and commit to identifying real, actionable solutions."