Image courtesy of Autonomous CRE+

The latest in a series of attempts to develop affordable housing on a Sandwich property for over a decade is back before town officials with a proposal that would create 144 mixed-income units.

Autonomous CRE+, a South Yarmouth firm that specializes in sustainable energy projects, proposes six buildings including 15 to 46 units apiece, and four townhouse buildings including eight three-bedroom units.

The 33-acre site consists of parcels at 76 Route 130 and 55 Pimlico Pond Road.

Founded in 2020, Autonomous CRE+ specializes in housing projects including renewable energy sources that represent a key portion of the financing package, Autonomous CRE’s Paul Cleary said.

Submitted under the state’s Chapter 40 affordable housing law, the current proposal is designed to attain net-zero carbon standards, including a 5-megawatt solar array and battery storage system. The solar array would be located on the rear of the site.

Chapter 40B enables developers to override local zoning bylaws to build multifamily housing. The Sandwich property is located in a single-family zone.

But obstacles to housing development on Cape Cod include lack of sewer infrastructure, restrictive zoning and community opposition, Cleary said. Autonomous CRE+ is planning an on-site wastewater treatment facility using a membrane bioreactor process.

As proposed, the Village Green project single-handedly would exceed the total number of subsidized housing units completed in Sandwich in the past two decades, Cleary said.

“Their track record, like a lot of the wealthy suburban towns, is dismal when it comes to affordable housing production,” he said.

The new proposal gets its first airing at a public hearing July 9.