MONSON — After discussion, the Monson Planning Board voted to adopt the Housing Production Plan during its joint July 16 meeting with the Select Board, completing the first step in the town’s approval process of the state-supported plan.
Following the Planning Board’s adoption, the plan must now be approved by the Select Board to receive full approval from the town.
Across Massachusetts, towns are being asked by the state to approve a Chapter 40B housing production plan in order to increase affordable housing in their communities. The plan requires towns to meet a yearly minimum for creating affordable housing units in an effort to meet the long-term goal of 10% affordable housing, the plan states.
If towns do not approve a housing production plan or if they fail to meet the yearly minimum to construct units, then the towns are open to a developer overriding the local zoning bylaws to build housing, as stated in the Comprehensive Permit law, Chapter 40B, Planning Board member Craig Sweitzer explained.
For Monson, this yearly minimum is 18 units, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Senior Planner Lori Tanner said at the June 18 Planning Board meeting. This minimum is outlined in the five-year plan that the Planning Board adopted on July 16. Also within the plan is the town’s goal to increase senior housing and work with regional housing agencies to support the 10% affordable housing goal.
During the July 16 meeting, the Planning Board and Select Board discussed multiple concerns for the adoption of a housing production plan. Issues raised included whether 18 units a year was feasible for the town, whether residents would be able to afford the constructed units and how the town could mitigate the threat of 40B developers.
In the discussion, concerns were also raised about the imbalance caused by the town’s efforts to increase housing with residents stating that Monson needed to increase economic development alongside housing.
Residents and board members both spoke out about the impact of 40B developments on wetlands, as the regulations for Chapter 40B would require developers to follow the state’s wetlands regulations but not the town’s regulations even if they are stricter, Select Board member Patricia Oney explained.
Additionally, Sweitzer highlighted the challenges of finding land to build the annually required 18 units. While the plan does list locations to construct housing, such as Monson Developmental Center, Hillside Elementary School and S. F. Cushman and Sons Woolen Mill, Sweitzer noted that each property contained “environmental challenges” that would complicate the process of converting the property to housing.
Ultimately, Planning Board members agreed that adopting the plan was a positive step forward, with Sweitzer stating that there was “no harm” in moving forward with the plan, as having the plan doesn’t force Monson into any decisions, only provides potential protections.
Similarly, Oney emphasized that the housing production plan was the first step.
“The whole premise of this thing is to get something started,” she said. “If we don’t do 18 houses a year, then we don’t do 18 houses a year, but if we don’t put a plan in place, we’ve got no place to start.”
The Select Board is expected to discuss the housing production plan during its upcoming July 23 meeting.
