The need for affordable housing is urgent. As I drive through South Hadley, I see signs supporting equality and social justice, but none advocating affordable housing — an essential social justice issue.

Our country is failing to address housing needs across all sectors. Housing insecurity is real. Opponents of affordable housing use snob zoning tactics to restrict growth. They acknowledge the need but offer no solutions, instead focusing on perceived concerns such as traffic, the environment, and property values. If concerns like property values were valid, how do we explain the high property values next to River Boat Village, the largest affordable housing project in town?

They use the same restrictive regulations they introduced to roadblock other development. For 40 years, I’ve heard the same anti-development arguments, however, regulations dealing with wetlands, stormwater management, and endangered species are already in place. Coupled with state building codes and sales tax, these important environmental protections do add as much as $50,000 to the cost of Massachusetts home building.

Affordable housing is crucial for everyone, including working families earning less than $84,000 a year and seniors on fixed incomes. Opposition to new housing developments and enacting costly regulations make the situation worse, similar to exclusionary zoning’s effect on land prices.

In South Hadley, the focus has been on restricting housing growth. To create affordable housing, we need to build more homes and support the Planning Board’s well-thought-out zoning amendments. We must end “snob zoning” practices.

Kenneth LeBlanc

South Hadley