Athol to hold special housing forum on May 30th

Posted on: May 8, 2023 - 9:11am
Housing Forum Flyer

Press Release:  Athol to hold special housing forum on May 30th

For immediate release.

The Town of Athol has embarked upon an effort to prepare a Housing Production Plan that will suggest a range of options to bring Athol closer to the state 10% affordability threshold from the current level of 5%, presenting a proactive housing agenda of Town-sponsored initiatives to meet pressing local housing needs. 

While the community’s housing stock can be considered relatively affordable compared to other parts of the region and state, the question arises as to how affordable it is to Athol residents?As this Housing Production Plan will document, there are segments of the community who are struggling due to limited financial means or other unmet special needs.More recent and projected demographic shifts will continue to challenge Town efforts to address changing housing priorities.

This planning effort represents a proactive approach on the part of the Town to achieve the following local affordable housing and community planning objectives:

  • Offer greater local control over affordable housing development as communities that make sufficient progress in implementing the HPP will have the potential ability to deny Chapter 40B comprehensive permit applications that they determine to be inappropriate or not reflective of local needs.
  • Provide updated documentation on important demographic and economic trends that have a bearing on future local and regional housing needs.
  • Provide a detailed analysis of the local and regional housing dynamic, analyzing how market prices affect residents’ ability to pay based on various income levels and target populations.
  • Analyze potential regulatory and development opportunities to help diversify local housing to address the range of identified local housing needs.
  • Identify what resources are available to support affordable housing development and how the Town can most strategically leverage local investment. 
  • Provide important data that can be used in applying for public and private sources of financial and technical support for affordable housing development or other community needs.
  • Offer a useful educational tool to help dispel misinformation and negative stereotypes regarding affordable housing and galvanize local public support for new housing initiatives.
  • Demonstrate the community’s intent to proactively address local housing issues to the state and other funding entities.
  • Offer illustrations of development constraints and opportunities.

The Town is sponsoring a Community Housing Forum to present what the Town’s Consultants have learned thus far regarding the shifts in demographic and housing trends as well as development constraints and opportunities.  The meeting will also include a special program to get the perspectives of participants on the Town‘s future housing agenda.

The meeting will be held at the Athol Public Library at 568 Main Street on Tuesday, May 30th at 6:00 p.m.  For more information contact Eric R.Smith, the Director of Planning and Community Development, at esmith@townofathol.org