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Date: 12/19/2022
BELCHERTOWN – The Select Board and Planning Board both approved the Housing Production Plan and will be sent for state approval.
The Planning Board and Select Board hosted a public hearing to go over the Housing Production Plan with representatives from Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) on Dec. 13.
The plan needed to be approved and adopted by the Planning Board and Select Board before it is accepted at the state level to help secure grants.
The purpose of the housing plan is to meet the state mandate that requires 10 percent of total year-round housing units be affordable by setting a numeric goal for annual housing production.
According to PVPC Economic Development Manger Lori Tanner, there are currently 390 affordable units out of 5,667 total units in Belchertown which is only seven percent.
Tanner added that Belchertown will need to add 30 additional units per year to avoid unwanted 40B development.
Chapter 40B is a state statute, which enables local Zoning Boards of Appeals to approve affordable housing developments under flexible rules if at least 20 to 25 percent of the units have long-term affordability restrictions.
PVPC Senior Planner Ken Comia said that there are a significant number of Belchertown residents who are considered housing cost burdened.
Housing cost burdened means spending 30 percent or more of household income on housing-related cost, according to Comia.
The presentation showed that 25 percent of homeowners and 40 percent of renters are considered housing cost burdened.
The Housing Production Plan was made to help those most effected by the rising housing costs like young adults starting out and looking for their first home, retired people, those unemployed or underemployed and residents with disabilities.
From September to November, the town of Belchertown posted a survey to gather input from residents so the Planning Department and PVPC can create The Local Housing Production Plan.
Of the 87 responses, 85 percent owned a single-family house, 53 percent are employed full-time while another 22 percent are retired.
Most of the response stated they have lived in there home for six to 20-plus years and there are a wide range of incomes and number of people in each of the households.
From the response, Tanner came up with five strategies to achieve compliance.
Strategies one and two include participating in regional collaborations addressing housing development and identify characteristics of proposed residential or mixed-use development that would be preferred by the municipality.
Tanner said that Belchertown is already completing strategy one by being a member in the Valley Development Council and Regional Housing Committee.
Strategy two could include additional housing units for the elderly and/or disabled, clustered development and mixed-use development in business neighborhood districts.
Strategy three is the identification of zoning districts or geographic areas where the municipality proposed to modify current regulations for the purpose of creating Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) eligible housing units.
Subsidized Housing Inventory is used to measure a community’s stock of low-or moderate-income housing.
Strategy four is the identification of specific sites for which the municipality will encourage development of affordable housing.
Tanner added those places could be Carriage Grove, Everett Acres and Franklin Street Elementary School property.
Strategy five is the identification of municipal or housing authority parcels for which the town commits to issue requests for proposals for SHI-eligible housing.
Some additional strategies include establishing a municipal affordable housing trust fund or considering adopting an inclusionary zoning bylaw.
Planning Board Chair James Natle said, “If we don’t start looking at the future of affordable housing, we might find ourselves going backwards.”
Albertson added that although it is a state requirement, “It is going to a part of a bigger master plan we are about to start on which will include the Housing Production Plan, but we also want to include what kind of housing do we need, where do we need it and how should it be done to update our towns master plan.”