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Date: 7/27/2022
HADLEY – At this time, the town of Hadley has 12.9 percent affordable housing, putting it ahead of the state-mandated 10 percent and offering protection from 40B proposals.
But Planning Board Clerk Bill Dwyer said that as new projects come online and others are taken off the town’s affordable housing inventory, a plan to address this will be needed. At the Hadley Select Board’s July 20 meeting, Dwyer said that 25 units at Mountain View Apartments will soon come off the inventory. In addition, another 80 units at Winfield Estates could be removed from the inventory over the next decade. Dwyer said when affordable housing developments are built, they’re done so with federal financing that requires a 20-year affordability window. Once the loan matures, the obligation for an affordable unit ends.
“If we fall below 10 percent, we’re exposed to a 40B application,” said Dwyer at the hybrid meeting. “That goes to the ZBA [Zoning Board of Appeals], not Town Meeting.”
Affordable housing are units affordable by households that meet specific income eligibility levels, typically earning below 80 percent of the area’s median income. 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. Projects proposed as 40B developments tend to be able to skirt some zoning bylaws, such as building more units than is typically allowed.
Dwyer stressed that the town is in a good place at this time and action isn’t immediately needed, as any significant decreases won’t happen until around 2032. But he wanted the board to be aware of this, as those 10 years will pass soon. He added that if affordable units at Winfield Estates and Mountain View are removed from the inventory, it would lower the affordable housing stock to 6.4 percent.
“I wanted to make sure Select Board knows there is some volatility in the affordable housing stock,” said Dwyer. “It’s better to keep already-built affordable housing on the inventory than to replace those that leave.”
Dwyer said there is funding in the Community Preservation Act and Affordable Housing Trust Fund and strategies that can be looked at that won’t affect the tax rate. He added that keeping Winfield Estates on the affordable housing inventory is “a multi-year process.” The board agreed that action was needed, and approved a motion to begin the process.
“This is a warning that this needs to be addressed,” said Dwyer. “It’s time to start building some strategies here.”
The board also heard from Claudia Pazmany, executive director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. Pazmany explained the different ways that the chamber supported local businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, such as getting personal protective equipment. She added that webinars and workshops have been hosted for businesses, and Hadley has proven an example with its own goals.
“Partnership has proven its weight in gold during the [coronavirus] pandemic,” she said. “It’s all about keeping doors open.”
A film permit request from Linda Margaret Rae LLC was approved. On Aug. 3, the crew will be working in the JC Penney parking lot and later in the day on N. Maple Street. On Aug. 15, filming would be done near Creamy Delights. All three locations would require road closures or traffic diverting. The board suggested using smaller farm roads to lessen the impact, if possible.
A motion was made to approve the firm of Mead, Talerman, and Costa to be the new town counsel as of July 21 Aspects such as responsiveness and litigation outcomes among the firms that applied were reviewed.