Town of Amherst Updates Housing Production Plan to Address Affordable Housing Needs

The Town of Amherst is changing its Housing Production Plan (HPP) to address the affordable housing needs of low- and moderate-income residents.

The HPP is a comprehensive document created by the municipality of Amherst to help facilitate the development and preservation of affordable housing, including housing that meets the requirements of Massachusetts’ affordable housing law.

The HPP, last updated in 2013, will now include data about who needs housing and what types currently exist, goals for different housing options, and strategies to strengthen affordable options.

Greg Richane, Amherst’s associate planner and housing coordinator, said that the town is using the HPP as “a broader tool” to “outline a game plan,” particularly focused on increasing deed-restricted affordable housing, which has restrictions on how it can be sold or rented.

Increasing deed-restricted affordable housing involves ensuring that Amherst has an avenue to develop affordable options, Richane said. As opposed to market-based affordability, where if Amherst builds enough new buildings, prices will lower.

The HPP will have a list of strategies and potential sites for development.

Richane is developing a list of locations in the area that are optimal for the development of housing for low- and moderate-income people. He is taking into consideration whether areas are connected to transportation infrastructure and whether they can accommodate multi-family development.

While the town does not have a developer lined up to build in specific areas, Richane noted that this list can offer guidance in the future.

A survey conducted in partnership with real estate consultant Barrett Planning Group in November received an “overwhelming response from community members,” according to a press release from Dec. 31, 2024.

The plan seeks to address the concerns of many in the community. The survey received approximately 400 responses, in which many respondents expressed concern about high housing costs.

Forty-five percent of residents who responded to the survey said they were likely to move out of Amherst in the next five years. Fifty-eight percent of this group attributed high housing costs as one of their reasons.

Richane said that the affordability gap between what the median income can afford in Amherst and the median home cost is approximately $300,000.

Richane said that a majority of people who responded to the survey were homeowners who said that if they were to buy in Amherst today, they could not afford to.

Approximately 56% of residents responded that it is important for them to stay in Amherst as they age, but 53% of those residents said that housing affordability is necessary for them to remain.

“A good percentage of homeowners who are disproportionately older have severe cost burdens on their homes. Presumably, these are probably folks who bought homes some years ago, but don't have the resources to to maintain them,” Richane said. Those who want to remain in Amherst do not have options to relocate affordably, he added.

Another key finding from the survey is that 58% of residents who responded experienced a housing cost burden at least once in the past year. Even more, 39% of residents reported that they are cost-burdened monthly.

“People are concerned about and really want to see more affordable options and more housing choices,” Richane said.