Housing Authority still seeking comments, suggestions from residents

Date: 11/10/2009

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Managing Editor



LONGMEADOW -- The formal meetings may be over, but that doesn't mean the Longmeadow Housing Authority has stopped looking for public input on housing issues, concerns and recommendations for the town.

Janye Bernhard-Armington, a housing and land use planner from the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) who is working with the Housing Authority, told Reminder Publications that about 10 residents attended the community interviews on Oct. 15 and 16.

She said the Housing Authority also received three written comments.

"We didn't have that many [people respond], that's why we're going to continue to seek comments," Bernhard-Armington said.

Additional comments and concerns can be directed to any member of the Longmeadow Housing Authority or directly to herself, Bernhard-Armington said. She can be reached in the PVPC office by calling 781-6045.

These comments will be collected through early December.

Bernhard-Armington said there seems to have been some confusion regarding the purpose of the Housing Authority's interviews.

"I think people came with the assumption that the Housing Authority was going to be building something," she said. "That's not true. They don't even manage anything. The Housing Authority is charged with looking at the needs of the town in terms of housing, and what should be done."

The purpose of this comment period is to provide the Housing Authority with data that can be used to develop a strategy for better use of the available town land, and "how the town can better use Community Preservation [Act] funds that have been set aside in the affordable housing category," she said.

The information derived from public comment will be combined with statistical information such as census data, housing trends, income, population trends, zoning, public transportation and the housing market to draft a report that presents an overview of the status of housing in Longmeadow, and what areas need to be addressed in future planning.

That report is expected to be completed and presented at a public forum in the spring.