EASTHAMPTON — The City Council unanimously voted to adopt its first new Housing Production Plan in seven years, which emphasizes reduced barriers to affordable housing in the city and an increase in housing for low-and moderate-income families and individuals.
To accomplish this vision, the plan, detailed in a 102-page document, focuses on five key goals:
■Creating a variety of affordable and mixed-income housing options.
■Providing more housing options at affordable and market rates for low-income families, people with disabilities and seniors.
■Meeting state standards that allow the city to avoid allowing developers to bypass certain zoning restrictions.
■Capitalizing on state programming; encouraging new development, and the repurposing of existing buildings, for affordable and mixed-income housing that meets certain development patterns.
■Encouraging the use of the mills and surplus town or institutionally owned property to create mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhoods.
With the adoption of the plan Wednesday by the City Council, Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle can now send it to state Department of Housing and Community Development for review and approval.
The city last approved a Housing Production Plan in 2014, which contained many of the same goals as the recently adopted plan, such as increased opportunities for accessory units, multifamily units and duplexes, and addressing parking issues. But the council at the time was not successful in enacting these goals, which councilors on Wednesday night highlighted as something that must change this time around.
“We have to move forward at a steady pace,” said Councilor Owen Zaret. “We also have to move forward at a pace that’s committed to making the document a reality and fulfilling our pledge if it’s approved.”
The plan is not a “silver bullet” for achieving housing goals in Easthampton, said City Planner Jeff Bagg, but outlines “a series of steps” that officials need to begin taking, such as removing prohibitory permit guidelines that can discourage the creation of accessory dwelling units, such as tiny homes or in-law apartments.
Councilor Tom Peake also pushed for reducing barriers to establishing accessory dwelling units, and before the meeting, submitted a zoning amendment that would eliminate some of the permitting barriers currently in place. Another amendment Peake submitted streamlines the permitting process for multifamily housing developments that meet certain percentages of affordable housing.
The city sits below state affordable housing standards, allowing developers to qualify for flexibility under Chapter 40B, the state’s affordable housing program. In towns without sufficient affordable housing, developers can forego some zoning requirements if at least 20% of units in their developments are affordable. To meet the state minimum, the city would need to add at least 38 affordable housing units annually.
According to Judi Barrett, principal-in-charge at the Barrett Planning Group, 30% of Easthampton residents pay more for housing than they can afford. In a presentation, Barrett highlighted barriers to affordable housing in the city, such as reliance on special permits for multifamily housing; high parking requirements for multifamily housing; and other regulatory restraints, such as minimum lot areas and minimum land per unit standards.
As part of the plan’s goal to encourage new development and repurposing of existing buildings into affordable and mixed-income housing, the plan recommends housing that “reinforces the development of Easthampton’s downtown urban neighborhoods and maintains a predominantly single-family character in established single-family neighborhoods.” This goal also calls for diverse housing options downtown and in walkable areas near shops, transportation and other services.
Several residents spoke in favor of the plan at the meeting, though some who generally supported the plan raised concerns about focusing too heavily on the downtown area or preserving single-family character.
Bagg said the city does not want ‘’to necessarily discourage any development on the outskirts,” but wants more people living at the “core” of the community. People further from the center of town will likely need cars, he said, making these areas “not the best place for a lot of multifamily housing.”