05/14/2008 ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Minutes

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Peter White,Affordable Housing Assn of N.E. d.b.a. LA PLAZA DEL SOL MOTEL 66-72 MAIN STREET MASHPEE, MA 02649 508-477-0238 April 22, 2008 Statement to the Mashpee Zoning Board of Appeals: My name is Peter White and I am the Managing Partner of a MA partnership called Affordable Housing Association of New England, as we're working for innovative approaches to the affordable housing crisis. My partner owns some land in New Hampshire that we plan to develop for handicap-accessible housing some day, and our business plan also involves renewable energy and conservation measures as well as creating jobs. For the last several years on Cape Cod I've been working with local motels that provide temporary off-season affordable workforce housing, and that's what we are doing at La Plaza Del Sol. We have owned the Motel since last fall, and we have cleaned up the property and done over$30,000 of repairs and energy conservation improvements—we are a member of the Green Hotels Association. I believe that the Town Building and Health officials will agree that the property has been improved, and we have not experienced any arrests or injuries during our management(not counting a couple of estranged husbands). Last summer, before we purchased the property, I talked with many Mashpee officials in Town Hall about what we intended to do. We are not trying to trick anyone, we're working to be a successful business and help our neighbors, and we are following the Use Group R-1 definition of the MA laws, as Mashpee has no specific ordinances or time limits for motels. The following evidence supports our legal operation of La Plaza Del Sol Motel: 1. The Motel is a grandfathered use, and weekly off-season and seasonal rentals have been an established use of the property for many years. Included is a letter from the previous owner, Nivaas Corporation, supporting this. 2. The Use Group R-1 definition reads that "the occupants are primarily transient in nature, occupying the facilities for a period of less than 30 days." During the first six months that we've owned the Motel, over 75%of our occupants have been transient in nature (see Occupancy Report provided).