Zoning exemption request for new South Dennis family shelter scheduled. Here are details.

The Dennis Planning Board will on Monday review whether the Housing Assistance Corporation's proposal to transform a former health-care facility into a family shelter is exempt from certain zoning restrictions.

The nonprofit housing agency, based in Hyannis, wants to use the 57,000-square-foot former skilled nursing home, South Dennis Healthcare, at 1 Love Lane to house up to 79 families.

According to Housing Assistance Corporation, the proposal would consolidate the nonprofit's three family shelters in Barnstable, Falmouth and Bourne, thereby opening space in those buildings for year-round housing.

The redevelopment of the South Dennis property is part of the agency's multi-year strategic plan to address housing insecurity across the region, according to the nonprofit. The goal is to open the new South Dennis shelter by the end of the year.

"It could be a good location for … people to get back on their feet and learn how to do the various things to get back into society if they had a bad turn," Town Planner Paul Foley said during a recent Planning Board meeting. "They're going to be teaching them various skills."

Peter Freeman of Freeman Law Group in Yarmouth Port will represent Housing Assistance Corporation.

According to documents filed with the town, Catalyst Architecture and Interiors will serve as the architect on the project.

What is the Dover Amendment?

Housing Assistance Corporation wants the project in South Dennis to be allowed by right under a state law known as the Dover Amendment.

The Dover Amendment, initially adopted in 1950, mandates that proposed religious and educational land uses be given more favorable treatment than other proposed uses (such as residential, commercial or industrial) under local zoning ordinances and bylaws, according to the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, an interlocal service of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

The use of zoning exemptions offered under the Dover Amendment has also been raised with a pending purchase by Riverview School, a private East Sandwich school for students with disabilities, of the 40-acre Twin Brooks Golf Course on Scudder Avenue in Hyannis.

What is Housing Assistance Corporation?

The nonprofit has operated on the Cape and Islands since 1974, opening first as a rental voucher agency. Housing Assistance Corporation has a Lower Cape office in Orleans. The agency's goal is "to elevate the Cape and Islands economy and community, empower residents of all ages and income levels, and address the root causes of our housing crisis."

Will the Cape Cod Commission review the project?

Foley said the town would submit a development of regional impact referral to the Cape Cod Commission now that Dennis has received the application.

"I don't know if they'll take it or not … we are going to send them a letter to let them know," said Foley at the meeting. "The real issue was the fact that the nursing home just kind of left."

A Cape Cod Commission spokesperson said the commission thinks there is no basis for finding that the development would constitute a mandatory referral as a development of regional impact.

When was the property purchased?

Housing Assistance bought the site known as South Dennis Healthcare for $4.3 million, according to a deed recorded with the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds on Sept. 28. Woburn-based Next Step Healthcare operated South Dennis Healthcare prior to the sale.

The site was formerly owned by One Love Lane South Dennis LLC.

How to attend the April 1 Planning Board meeting?

The board will hold a public meeting to discuss the proposal at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Stone Hearing Room at Dennis Town Hall, 685 Route 134. The public can attend in person or virtually. Information on how to attend virtually is available on the town website.

Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on X @zanerazz.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Dennis board will hear zoning exemption pitch from Cape housing group