The Study shall be a resource guiding the town government in their decision-making process concerning regulatory changes and programs for strategic housing production. The Study will also suggest methods to track progress. The Study shall be the groundwork for a Comprehensive Plan amendment and a ten-year Strategic Plan for Housing Production which may include subsequent changes to zoning provisions, capital improvements, town land acquisitions, and financial and regulatory incentives.

Integrating a micro-scale Buildout Analysis into the Housing Needs Assessment is a project priority. Jamestown faces unique geographic constraints as an island town. Jamestown must balance high real estate costs, seasonal and investment residential properties, and short-term rentals, with physical and environmental constraints while meeting the Rhode Island state mandate requiring 10% of year-round housing to be deed-restricted affordable housing under the Rhode Island Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Act (LMI Act). Jamestown intends to create a strategic and practical housing production plan by balancing actual housing demand with the real-world physical limits of small-scale building development.

The Town of Jamestown continues to consider regulatory changes through implementation of strategies for infill development and missing-middle housing production producing affordable workforce and LMI units. This Housing Study will calculate the needed price-point targets for working-class residents (such as municipal staff, teachers, service providers, and marine workers). The Town can then map these counts against the Buildout Analysis to determine where and how to modify zoning rules and when physical and environmental conditions may allow for development of targeted workforce and LMI units.