AMHERST — A proposal to build 28 affordable studio apartments to help meet some of the demand in Amherst for housing for low- and moderate-income people has sparked the first Open Meeting of the Residents, a dedicated evening of discussion that will be held this month. The proposal has raised worry that its setting near residential neighborhoods may not be an appropriate location, and the meeting will give people an opportunity to talk about the $5 million project being developed by Valley Community Development Corp. at 132 Northampton Road, adjacent to Amherst College’s Pratt Field.
The meeting will be June 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Bangs Community Center.
An Open Meeting of the Residents is a section of the town charter that allows a petition by at least 200 residents 18 and over, or members of the Town Council, School Committee or trustees for the Jones Library, to call a meeting focused on a single topic.
In this case, Council President Lynn Griesemer said the meeting is being called by the council to get feedback on the project. The meeting comes in advance of a decision by the council on whether to appropriate $500,000 from the Community Preservation Act account to help get the project built.
The proposed apartments are sometimes referred to as enhanced single-room occupancy, or SRO, with each apartment having a kitchenette and bathroom. Amherst has no similar properties, though several have been built opened in Northampton.
Of the 28 units, which will be inside an existing residence that will be expanded, 10 studios will have a homeless preference and an income cap of $18,650 a year. Another eight units will be rented to people with an income cap of $31,050, eight more will go to people with an income cap of $49,700, and two units will be for tenants from the Department of Mental Health with an income cap of $18,650.
The meeting will include brief presentations by the Community Preservation Act Committee, the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust, Valley CDC, abutters and neighbors.
The location is seen as ideal by advocates: within walking and biking distance of shops, including Big Y Supermarket and CVS Pharmacy on University Drive, and the office of Amherst Community Connections, the John P. Musante Community Health Center and the resource center operated by Craig’s Doors Inc., which also runs the town’s seasonal homeless shelter.
Others, though, have questioned whether there would be a need for more on-site management. Neighbors have requested extended dialogue so as much information is available as possible.
Comments can be submitted in writing in advance by sending them to towncouncil@amherstma.gov.
Action by the Town Council is likely at its July 1 meeting.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
