AMHERST — Amherst should aim to have 700 to 900 new housing units constructed by 2030 to confront an existing demand that is pricing many families out of town and limiting what is available for student tenants, according to contents of a final draft housing production plan.
“We feel like this goal is within reason, but large enough to make a tangible difference in the town’s affordability prices,” Tony Duong, a community planner with the Barrett Planning Group, LLC of Hingham, told the Planning Board at its May 21 meeting. “There are thousands of residents and households struggling every day, so there needs to be immediate and comprehensive action.”
In coming up with the plan, which runs 206 pages, Duong said the aim is to strike a balance between what is feasible and how much housing Amherst needs to make a tangible dent in high rents and home prices. The target production is well above meeting the minimum guidelines of the state’s Chapter 40B affordable housing law, which would require producing 265 new units.
The consultants are taking feedback through June 1 on the contents of the report, which outlines goals, such as expanding opportunities for all housing and affordable housing, and to how achieve these, such as upzoning all residential districts to create the “missing middle” housing, redefining apartment uses so that more apartments can be built and creating a Chapter 40 R smart growth overlay zone and amending the inclusionary zoning bylaw that requires affordable units be provided in developments.
Duong explained the pressure caused by college students, with over 9,000 off-campus students living in town, over 1,600 living in neighboring towns, and an additional 7,000 University of Massachusetts students living farther away. Households are also smaller now than historically, and 2,974 households in town are considered cost burdened, and 25% are considering moving within the next five years, with at least some portion of these citing costs.
Rents in Amherst can be twice what they are in the region, with the median $2,100 per month for a two-bedroom in Amherst, whereas the fair market rent for the metro area’s $1,375 per month.
“First and foremost, the town needs to build more housing for students. The demand is overwhelming and continues to displace long-term, permanent residents, so this must be addressed if the town wants to alleviate any pressure on the housing market,” Duong said.
Members of the Planning Board offered some input on the report. Fred Hartwell said he is struck by the plan’s noting the challenges caused by the state.
“The state absolutely gets in Amherst’s way in achieving these objectives,” Hartwell said.
Even though there are impacts of student rentals on the overall market, the town is rebuffed in efforts to address this, pointing to the state’s new accessory dwellings legislation and Amherst being forced to remove its owner-occupancy provision.
Planning Board Chairman Doug Marshall asked what happens if no action is taken on the contents of the plan.
Judi Barrett, the principal at Barrett Consulting, said not implementing a plan, once completed, would be a loss for Amherst, but there are no penalties from the state.
Senior Planner Nate Malloy said having the plan in place is helpful in establishing goals for housing and zoning.
Marshall said the recommendations could lead to arguments.
“We’ve certainly had enough fights about making any tiny little changes to zoning in this town,” Marshall said. “A lot of what you’re proposing is pretty revolutionary in terms of what many people can tolerate.”
The last housing production plan produced 487 total units, with 226 of these affordable, or less than 80% of area median income, and 112 considered workforce housing.
The draft plan also contemplates reducing public and financial barriers to housing developments, with strategies that include assisting developers in accessing public subsidies and supporting local housing organizations, and finding ways to shift the demographic make-up of town, possibly through building more relationships with the colleges and UMass.
District 4 Councilor Pamela Rooney said she has concerns about strategy if it includes building more student housing.
“I want to strongly state that it is not the town’s responsibility to provide that much housing for that population,” Rooney said. “It’s almost insatiable, because students would want by choice to be closer to the university (and) we cannot afford to house them all.”
The Planning Board is expected to vote on a final version of the housing production plan, likely June 18. Then it would go on to the Town Council and finally the state’s Executive Office of Housing of Livable Communities, though because Amherst already has more than 10% in the subsidized housing inventory, there are no penalties for not having the plan and not executing aspects of it.
Those who want to submit feedback on the plan by June 1 should go to:
https://www.amherstma.gov/3814/59969/Housing-Production-Plan
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
