The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday to explore the possibility of adding senior housing to the Tremont Nail property and to add a non-binding referendum concerning the Westfield housing project to the April 6 ballot.

The Community and Economic Development Authority (CEDA) will determine whether it is feasible to subdivide Tremont Nail land and will begin speaking to developers to see if there is an interest in putting senior housing at the site.

Adding housing will generate revenue from the site, which will help the town make repairs to the other buildings on the property, said Alan Slavin, chairman of the Tremont Nail Master Plan Committee, which proposed the idea.

"This is viable now, it's affordable, it gets money in," Slavin said.

CEDA director Christopher Reilly said the addition of housing would still allow for future retail space and the proximity of the housing would attract potential retailers to the location.

The proposed housing would bring the town closer to the state's 10-percent affordable housing requirement.

"If we're in search for town land that can accommodate senior housing, there it is, because it's right down the street from the hospital, and doctor's offices, and stores, and transportation," said Board of Selectmen chairman Bruce Sauvageau.

The Board also voted to add a non-binding referendum to the April 6 ballot regarding the Westfield senior housing project, which was shelved at Town Meeting in October. Opponents of the project argued that the location was too far from downtown, making it difficult for seniors to get to doctors appointments and stores.

Sauvageau said he would like to see if the community supports senior housing and whether it supports senior housing at that location.

"My personal opinion is that 50 votes is not representative of a community's opinion. It's representative of a vote of Town Meeting. ... It is in no way, in my opinion, disrespectful to Town Meeting to request the opinion of the larger electorate," Sauvageau said.