The Little Compton Planning Board has approved an administrative subdivision of 31 acres of land located at 164 John Dyer Road, in a move that could pave the way for a new affordable housing development near the Westport/Little Compton town line.

The property was jointly purchased in August by the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust (Ag Trust) and Little Compton developer Dennis Talbot. The board’s approval of the subdivision means that the original parcel is now divided into two distinct lots. The western portion, owned by the Ag Trust, is 26 acres, with frontage on John Dyer Road. The agency’s ownership of the acreage aligns with one of its primary goals of preserving open spaces, said Ag Trust board member Michael Steers, and the property will not be developed.

Talbot’s parcel consists of 4.9 acres to the east, fronted on Old Harbor Road in Westport. At a town council meeting late last month, Patrick Bowen, chairman of Little Compton Housing Trust, told councilors that the trust has received a $200,000 state grant that will allow it to purchase the property from Talbot for the purpose of building four single-family homes that will be designated as affordable housing.

Eight members of the planning board voted in favor of the administrative subdivision. Steers, who serves as the planning board’s representative for the Ag Trust, recused.