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Date: 9/19/2023
SOUTH HADLEY — The South Hadley Housing Production Plan has just been made available for a 60-day public comment period.
The plan comes as South Hadley has a shortage of housing stock available and affordable to low- and moderate-income households. It has been a focus of town leaders in addressing this and creating more affordable living in town.
The HPP provides analysis and discussion on South Hadley’s population, housing stock and housing affordability using current demographic and market data. The existing conditions as well as public comment from two community forums and a survey have informed the community’s goals for housing and strategies that can be implemented to achieve these goals over time. Municipalities maintain HPPs to comply with a state law known as Chapter 40B and to address the goal of 10% deed-restricted affordable housing. The draft plan is an update to the 2016 HPP.
Director of Planning and Conservation Anne Capra told Reminder Publishing it’s important for residents to become familiar with the HPP as South Hadley is in need of affordable housing options under state law.
“South Hadley is a town of 18,000 with 40% of the town’s households qualifying for housing assistance if it were available, but only 6% of the housing stock is actually deed restricted Affordable Housing,” Capra said.
Just to reach the benchmark of 10% affordable units set under MGL C.40B, South Hadley needs to create an additional 312 units, Capra added.
“Compare this figure to 2,685 income-eligible households living in South Hadley, of whom 1,785 are housing cost-burdened. The reality is we need a lot more housing at affordable rates immediately, and this is an issue much bigger than just South Hadley,” Capra said.
Capra cited a recent study by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute forecasted that Hampshire County will need an additional 3,500 housing units by 2025, and CHAPA has set a goal of 200,000 new units by 2030 statewide. These are just some examples as to why Capra believes it’s important for residents to understand the big need for more housing, and learn about strategies the HPP proposes to enable creation of that housing. She added the majority of those strategies will require futther review and the public to be implemented.
On Sept. 13 Capra and the town hosted their third community forum on the HPP and was pleased with the participation from the community.
“It seemed that people that participated did learn more about the strategies for housing outlined in the plan and some of the housing challenges currently experienced by different types of households with different income levels,” Capra said. “Of course there is a range of opinions on how South Hadley should address housing needs, and it was good to be able to discuss these openly.”
Capra highly recommend residents read the HPP Executive SUmmary if they don’t have time to go into the full plan and it can be viewed on the town’s website. The plan and information on the planning process can be found at https://southhadley.org/1372/Housing-Production-Plan.
Copies of the draft plan are available for review at Town Hall in the Planning and Conservation Department, the South Hadley Public Library, Gaylord Library and the South Hadley Senior Center. Comments are due by Oct. 25. Comments may be submitted online via Google form, or by mail or in person to the Town of South Hadley Planning and Conservation Department, 116 Main St., South Hadley, MA 01075.
A public hearing on the draft plan will take place Monday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. (via Zoom) at the South Hadley Planning Board’s meeting. The Planning Board will begin hosting a three-part speaker series on affordable housing beginning on Sept. 20. Oct. 18 and Nov. 15 are the other dates for the series.
Boards and Commissions seeking members
Members are needed for South Hadley boards and commissions, including a new Veteran’s Council, according to a posting on the town’s website.
The South Hadley Veteran’s Council was recently established by the town and now members are needed.
Each of the seven members must be a resident of South Hadley, a legal veteran and a registered voter. Upon appointment by the Selectboard, each member will serve a three-year term. On legislation relating to veterans’ affairs, the veteran’s council will advise and make recommendations to the director of veterans services, the town administrator and the Selectboard.
The South Hadley’s Veterans Council will be responsible for promoting the welfare of vets in the town and organizing the annual South Hadley Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies, as well as a Flag Day Parade. It will also be responsible for other duties as determined by the Selectboard and will advise and make recommendations on legislation pertaining to veteran’s affairs.
A meeting of the Veterans Council will take place at least four times a year or as called by the chairperson. Initially, two appointments wills serve one-year terms, two will serve two-year terms and three will serve three-year terms.
In October, the Selectboard will interview and appoint candidates. If interested and having met the membership criteria, visit the town website to apply.
Openings are also available on many of the town’s boards and commissions and they are actively seeking interested parties looking to fill these holes.
“The Selectboard appoints residents to boards and commissoins three times a year: Feburary, June and October. We’re looking for citizens with diverse interests and abilities to apply for available positions on several boards,” said Executive Assistant to Administration Kristin Maher.
A total of 11 boards and committees have vacancies needing to be filled. These boards and committees include the Capital Planning Committee, the Commission on Disabilities, the Council on Aging, the Cultural Council, the Historical Commission, the Human Rights Commission, the Master Plan Implementation Committee, the Sustainability & Energy Commissoin, Town Meeting Review Committee, Zoning Board of Appeals and the Veterans Council.
Maher highlighted the Capital Planning Committee which has one open position and added the ideal candidate is a volunteer with construction and HVAC experience.
There are no special qualifications needed to try and join these committees besides the Veterans Council. The only requirement is applicants must be registered to vote in the town of South Hadley.
If interested, visit https://www.southhadley.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=860. The Selectboard will contact applicants with instructions on how to attend an interview. The Selectboard will interview and make appointments in October.