Massachusetts neighborhoods need to embrace housing options (Editorial)

Neighborhood groups in two western Massachusetts communities have a chance in coming weeks to take a novel course.

They could say yes.

Instead of opposing housing developments, groups could – and should – support projects and zoning changes able to expand the number of dwellings in Hampshire County. And residents across the state should do the same, as Gov. Maura Healey launches a $4.12 billion effort to tackle this problem.

The current shortage of affordable housing for the great swath of middle-income earners leaves towns sclerotic, unable to accommodate young families and is partly to blame for the growing number of people living on our sidewalks, under bridges, and in wooded patches next to fast-food restaurants.

In 2022, the Massachusetts Donahue Institute estimated that the Pioneer Valley will need another 19,000 housing units by 2025.

To increase the number of places people can live, two Amherst Town Council members, Mandi Jo Hanneke and Pat DeAngelis, have put forward small changes to zoning policy. That’s the sort of news people often ignore. Raking lawns with a fork might be more entertaining than considering zoning policy. But people should pay attention. Allowing homeowners to more easily build duplexes or convert garages and basements to apartments is the sort of change that matters. People urgently need places to live.

One group, the ironically named Progressive Coalition of Amherst, is already working against the zoning changes, arguing that the new rules would give too much leeway to developers.

Amherst groups that have opposed housing development in their backyards should consider lending support to the Hanneke/DeAngelis proposal, which is sure to get a careful governmental review.

It has become commonplace for affluent communities around the U.S. to resist new housing. That’s not progressive and it is not in the public interest.

In Northampton, two multi-story buildings could soon be built on King Street near downtown. While their proposed height – six stories in one case – causes consternation among some, this project holds the potential to increase housing units on a busy commercial route.

The more available places there are for people to live downtown, the less building pressure may be applied in neighborhoods, where residents often oppose changes.

Some Northampton residents are pushing for so-called Neighborhood Conservation Districts, a designation akin to historic preservation districts. These residents, who have fought and lost battles about the character and charm of their neighborhoods, want a greater voice.

Local residents having more voice is fine, as long as concern for neighborhood character is not code for preserving a lifestyle that fits the people who already live there, while excluding the rest.