Zoning board splits over Habitat house's residency lottery

Zoning Board · Meeting of February 10, 2026

Marshfield Zoning Board grants Habitat house permit despite no-local-preference objection. The board voted 5-1 Tuesday for a South Shore Habitat for Humanity project at 1929 Main Street, built on land the town helped buy with $250,000 in Community Preservation funds, after Clerk Larry Keane objected that state rules bar giving Marshfield residents priority in the affordable-housing lottery. "The town of Marshfield, the taxpayers of this town, purchased this property, and my feeling is that a Marshfield resident should have preference," Keane said.

Separately, the board granted a 4-1 special permit resolving zoning issues in a months-long Ocean Street boundary and deck dispute between the Bruce Family Realty Trust and a neighbor, Pat Vanda, without ruling on who owns the disputed strip of land. Chair Brian Murphy opened the meeting with a moment of silence for zoning administrator Nancy Perica, who recently died.

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Source: the Zoning Board meeting of February 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.