Hull Select Board Unanimously Supports Community Housing Trust Initiative
Board approves multiple community events for 2025 season, including Porchfest and South Shore Revival
HULL - April 2 - The Hull Select Board unanimously votes to support Town Meeting Article 25, establishing a Community Housing Trust to address affordable housing needs in town. The initiative aims to provide subsidies and reduce costs to encourage affordable housing development.
"The Affordable Housing Committee is holding a community meeting on Thursday, April 10th at the high school for residents of Hull to learn more about what an affordable housing trust fund is," says Cyndi Koebert, Chair of the Affordable Housing Committee.
Select Board Chair Irwin Nesoff emphasizes the importance of the trust, noting that no affordable housing has been produced in town for a long time.
"The projects that are going up now have no affordable housing units in them," Nesoff says. "The cost of housing is so expensive that in order to develop affordable housing, it requires deep subsidies. And our town, we don't have the budget to subsidize that."
The Affordable Housing Community Housing Trust gives the town a method to provide subsidies and help reduce costs to encourage affordable housing development. This comes at a critical time as federal subsidies for affordable housing are expected to decrease.
Koebert highlights the urgency of the situation, noting that in her two years as chair of the Affordable Housing Committee, not a single unit of affordable housing has been developed.
"We have no site control. We have no designation, and I don't expect that we will unless we have an affordable housing trust fund," she says.
The Advisory Board has already voted unanimously to recommend the trust, with one proviso regarding limits on lending that is already included in the proposal.
In addition to supporting the housing trust, the Select Board approves several community events for the 2025 season:
The board approves a one-day entertainment license for Hull Porch Fest to be held on Saturday, September 13, 2025, with a rain date of Sunday, September 14, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The approval is conditional upon final approval from the Hull Police Department.
Kathleen McKenna, representing Porch Fest, requests a slight expansion of the event's footprint to accommodate more musicians and reduce sound overlap between performances.
"We usually have about 30 bands, so the only logistical problem is when all the people who choose to donate their porches are so close to each other," McKenna explains.
Town Manager Jennifer Constable suggests exploring the possibility of designating zones with staggered performance times to address noise concerns and reduce the impact on neighborhoods.
The board conditionally approves three one-day entertainment licenses for the South Shore Revival, organized by the Ark Church and the Anchor of Hull. The event will be held at Lot B, Hull Shore Common on Thursday, June 5, 2025, from 5 to 8 p.m.; Friday, June 6, from 5 to 9 p.m.; and Saturday, June 7, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Patrick Lenhart, representing the organizers, explains that the event aims to celebrate recovery from addiction and provide faith-based support.
"We want to celebrate victory over addiction for those that are in recovery and never have a chance to really celebrate it," Lenhart says.
The approval is subject to meetings with town officials and public safety departments to address concerns about traffic flow, safety measures, and building permits for the stage and lighting.
The board approves the Hull Nantasket Chamber of Commerce's request to hold the Stem to Stern Yard Sale on May 17 and 18, 2025.
"For many, many years, about 80 plus homes get involved. It turns out that it's just a great way for people to know meeting each other," says a Chamber representative.
The board approves Temple Beth Shalom's application to park up to 50 cars at 600 Nantasket Avenue during the summer months, with conditions including providing information about plovers, trash receptacles, and bathroom facilities.
The Select Board also appoints Michael Sampson to the U.S.A. Semiquincentennial 250th Anniversary Committee.
The next Select Board meeting is scheduled for April 16, which will include a joint meeting with the Light Board and presentations on green communities and climate resiliency efforts.