Hayley Wood: EconoLodge vote disappointing, zoning review needed
Published: 03-27-2023 6:13 PM |
On March 20, the Hadley Zoning Board of Appeals voted to deny a comprehensive permit to Valley Community Development that would have allowed that organization to develop the now-empty EconoLodge Hotel into 51 units of permanent housing, much of it designated for low-income renters and people emerging from homelessness. No public comment was permitted, unlike at the previous meeting, when many residents opposed to the development spoke.
Their unanimous vote came after Valley CDC presented information gathered in response to concerns about potential tax revenue loss and the expected increase in call-volume for the police and fire departments. The slide presentation also included data about housing-cost burdened people currently living in Hadley (51.7% of renters and 24.7% of home owners) and the fact that the recently completed Hadley Housing Production Plan recommends increasing affordable housing stock by at least 11 units in 2023, particularly in the few areas in the town, such as the Route 9 corridor, that aren’t protected by agricultural and environmental restrictions.
Fewer than two weeks prior to this meeting, the Hadley Housing Production Plan Committee and I hosted a public presentation on the plan and how its recommendation to increase the diversity of housing types in Hadley echoes findings and recommendations that were published in the November 2022 Age- and Dementia-Friendly Hadley Community Assessment, in which lack of housing options was identified as the top concern by Hadley older adult survey respondents.
The Hadley Council on Aging, the community board that guides policy at the Senior Center, unanimously supports the project to convert the EconoLodge into apartments.
At the Hadley Senior Center, more social service hours are spent working with people on housing than any other kind of assistance. Older adults are the fastest growing demographic of homeless people in the country. The people we’re helping need more housing options, particularly in units that come with access to resident support staff, as the EconoLodge units would. Waiting lists for housing authority units and Section 8 vouchers are years-long. This project provides a strong opportunity that takes advantage of existing infrastructure, utilizes town sewer, and is close to bus stops and stores.
I am disappointed that the Hadley ZBA, a three-person board, chose to deny the permit on the basis that current Hadley zoning bylaws prohibit apartment buildings and they didn’t feel that in the face of opposition, which there certainly is, that they should green-light the project. They recommended that the zoning bylaw definition of “dwellings” precluding apartment buildings in Hadley be on the warrant for a future Town Meeting. I agree that that would be a good next step.
Hayley Wood
Hadley Senior Services Director
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