Manchester Planning Board Reviews Draft Housing Plan With 5 Percent SHI Rate

MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — June 17, 2026 — Manchester-by-the-Sea Planning Board holds public forum on housing plan update, with rental vacancy at zero and median home price at $1.35 million. The board heard from a long-standing housing consultant presenting draft findings from the town's Housing Production Plan update, which must be completed, approved by the Planning Board and Select Board, and submitted to the state. Of the town's 2,293 year-round units, 115, or just over 5 percent, qualify for the state's Subsidized Housing Inventory, leaving a gap before reaching the 10 percent safe-harbor threshold that protects against unwanted Chapter 40B comprehensive permit overrides. The census-reported median gross rent of $1,811 was acknowledged as misleading due to inclusion of subsidized units, with market turnover rents estimated at roughly $3,000 per month; 74 percent of households at or below 80 percent of area median income spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. The board debated whether to pursue a friendly 40B on a large development site associated with Gordon College and Jefferson, a self-described luxury developer expected to bring an application in October, or to step back and seek a different developer and project structure, while noting the Affordable Housing Trust holds approximately $1.7 million it has been unable to deploy.