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Date: 10/12/2022
WHATELY – Residents know what the town needs, according to a recent housing survey: cheaper housing. Specifically, the town needs smaller homes for seniors, starter homes for new residents, and in-law apartments.
Single family homes? Whately has plenty. The survey found 80 percent of local families live in their own house. About 20 percent of residents are renters, with 7 percent living in multi-family structures. An estimated 15 percent find their housing costs unaffordable.
“We asked that question because we were interested in whether housing was squeezing people out of town,” said Tamsin Flanders, an employee of Franklin County Council of Governments (FRCOG). FRCOG is formulating a housing plan for the town. “There are about 20 percent thinking about leaving their existing house.”
Those who plan to move need to downsize, can’t afford where they live, find maintenance unaffordable or too physically challenging. Three of seven respondents planning a change need to downsize or require a one story house. One respondent thinks too many people are moving to Whately.
“Too many people moving into Whately?” said Brant Cheikes, a member of the Planning Board. “First time I’ve ever heard that.”
The survey, distributed through the town newsletter and elsewhere, drew 47 responses. Fred Orlosky, associated with several municipal bodies, was concerned the survey was too small to accurately portray the town’s housing needs.
“How do you deal with so low a response?” Orlosky asked. “Is that statistically valid, or is that just a one-time snapshot that doesn’t really reflect the town?”
Orlosky asked the question after discrepancies surfaced between the survey findings and the number of multi-family dwellings Orlosky knew about from his Board of Assessors activities. Orlosky said there is over two dozen two-family residences in town.
“In Whately, there’s approximately…28 two-family residences and four three-family residences,” Orlosky said. “I’m sure there’s existing properties that have more than one family living in them, that have one septic system.”
The commonwealth’s Chapter 40B guidelines, which articulate affordable housing law, list the requirements for septic systems, including limits on the number of families serviced by a single system. Septic requirements are sticky when it comes to larger developments, make it harder to find suitable properties, and survey respondents preferred for housing growth to come in the form of larger projects.
A larger project may bump affordable housing levels over 10 percent, which brings a major benefit to the town: continued autonomy.
Under the Chapter 40B state guidelines, if a municipality has less than 10 percent affordable housing, developers have more latitude in projects. Certain zoning restrictions and local requirements may be suspended to ease the path of affordable developments, regardless of the desirability of the project, whether it fits into the town’s overall planning, or not. Municipalities are loathe to lose that control over growth. Achieving the 10 percent threshold fends off that possibility.
Catherine Wolkowicz, a member of the Housing Committee and Community Preservation Committee, brought the talk back to the low share of affordable housing in town. “We still have less than 5 percent, so that is still a small amount,” Wolkowicz said.
A large number of units is already underway, in town, according to Orlosky, though the project seems to be stalled. He preferred not to name its location. That project could bump the town toward the affordable housing threshold.
“We have a property in town, two to three acres, that was sold to a developer,” Orlosky said. The developer, who bought the property from the town some time ago, initially intended to put in ten units, with another ten units on a neighboring lot—but too much time has passed for Orlosky. “People keep wondering, is this going to be developed or not? People have accepted that location and those units.”
Committee members discussed other development options, including Habitat for Humanity. Whately’s proposal is number 82 on the list to be built, at the rate of three or four houses each year, which implies a very long wait. Housing Committee member Montserrat Archbald enquired after the Blue School, near the corner of Christian Lane and Rt. 5. That property is privately owned.
“I’m not necessarily sure I would speak in favor of using any of our farmland,” Wolkowicz said. “I don’t think we have enough of that preserved.” Wolkowicz also nixed any thought of converting the Center School to housing. “It’s in bad shape. The amount of money it would cost, to renovate that building for housing, it would be three times more expensive than building new.”
Cheikes recommended Tri-Town Beach, an expensive option.
“To make it a real town asset would require a lot of investment,” Cheikes said. “I was there last weekend and it’s very sad. I swam with the geese, but it was sad.”
Megan Rhodes, Senior Land Use and Transportation Planner for FRCOG, the lead writer of Whately’s affordable housing plan, explained the stages ahead for the document that will reach 100 pages.
“We draft a plan based on your feedback,” Rhodes said. After another round of feedback, “We do another draft, then take it to the Planning Board and Select Board.”
Rhodes also dangled a final carrot before the Housing Committee. “You can also get points on grant applications.”
Points increase the likelihood that grant applications receive funding.