NAHANT — Advisory and Finance Committee Chair Bob Vanderslice debated with Town Administrator Tony Barletta as the committee discussed a Community Preservation Grant application for a housing-development location study proposed by the town.

The proposal includes a potential study of the town-owned property on Greystone Road, a location that the town’s Housing Production Plan identified as the best option for future housing developments.

“This next study will evaluate the capacity of the site for single and multi-family dwelling, examining site capacity for new construction, creating guidelines for building design and character, along with landscape, pedestrian, and vehicular circulation,” the proposal reads.

The proposal is requesting $43,556 in funds from the Fiscal Year 2025 Community Preservation Fund and $16,444 from the Community Housing Reserve.

Barletta described the study as one part of Nahant’s long-term goal to achieve “safe harbor” with the Commonwealth’s zoning laws.

Vanderslice had a list of questions he said were not adequately answered by Barletta and the town in the proposal. He expressed his belief that a “master plan” for subsidized housing including the entire town should be developed first.

“We can study Greystone Road, but what we need to do first is have a master plan for subsidized housing that, one, defines the end goal, and two, tells us how we’re going to get to that end goal,” Vanderslice said. “And if we don’t do that, I think we’re doing a disservice to the taxpayers.”

“I think it would scare everybody off if we attempted to solve our 40B problems in one swing,” Barletta said. “I think you have to take this slow.”

He noted that the development of housing on Greystone Road could be enough for the state to grant the town temporary safe harbor for up to four years.

Vanderslice said that even if Greystone Road is utilized for housing, he believes the town will still ultimately struggle to reach its goal.

“I don’t want to put words in your mouth Bob, but it almost sounds like, ‘If we don’t have a plan to satisfy the entire goal, we shouldn’t do anything,’” Barletta said. “And that’s just not possible.”

Barletta said that the plan’s specificity is intentional for the purpose of getting the state’s approval.

Housing Production Plan Advisory Subcommittee Chair Michelle Capano added that with the expansion of the plan’s scope comes an expansion of the plan’s cost.

“What I am suggesting here is try to lay out how we get to the end,” Vanderslice said.

Committee member Tim Bell disagreed with Vanderslice and said he was thankful for the proposal.

“The proposal here is the kind of thing that the Finance Committee should be jumping for joy that they’re going to do this kind of detailed research and planning to allow all of that ancillary critical information before going out to a bid or anything,” Bell said.

The committee voted to table discussion on the proposal until next Thursday so it can be updated with additional financial details. Bell was the only member who voted against doing so.