Know Your Town is hosting an informational program on Chapter 40B/Affordable Housing at 7:00pm on Thursday, February 26. The program will be held in the Library at South Hadley High School, located at 153 Newton Street. Refreshments will be served.
Panel members will include:
Larry Smith, Senior Planner with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, will speak to the mandates and logistics of Chapter 40B for each community in the state and methods by which towns may achieve the mandated threshold of 10% affordable housing.
Nathan Malloy of the Amherst Planning Department will explain the ways in which the town of Amherst has achieved its 10% affordable housing stock.
John Scibak, State Representative, will discuss the need for 40B reform.
Kenneth LeBlanc, an area contractor and builder, will talk about the impact of an inclusionary housing bylaw on his business.
In recent months South Hadley has grappled with a 40B/Affordable Housing application for 60 units of housing off of Ferry Street, which was submitted after the Planning Board rejected the builder’s initial proposal for 30 units. Ultimately, the Planning Board granted a special permit for about 29 units on that property and the 60-unit plan under 40B was withdrawn.
The public is invited to come and learn more about 40B, how communities can achieve the 10% quota of affordable units mandated by this statute, and to share their views on this topic.