Letter: Public Housing Has Great Potential For Meeting Town’s Affordable Housing Needs

I am not sure how to approach the Draft Report from the CRC on their proposed Town Housing Policy. It appears that the committee did not realize the considerable potential for developing public housing to meet affordable housing needs. Upon initial reading, most of the emphasis appears to be focused on the need for low income housing and the expenditures of the Town to meet that need. I have worked for many years with Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) throughout the country and in Massachusetts.  I am a member of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Organizations (NAHRO) and the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association (PHADA). I have worked in the past with the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development as well as directly with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The CRC Draft appears to be attempting to re-invent the wheel without accounting for the new realities of a Biden Administration..

The Biden Administration has indicated that they intend to place great emphasis on low income housing according to one of the national organizations to which I belong. Apparently the Federal monies to be made available will flow through HUD to PHAs and to state organizations like the Massachusetts Department of Economic And Community Development (MA DECD). In the CRC draft report, I found only two cursory references to Public Housing and two references to the MA DECD. I would suggest that this is a severe deficiency in the report. I realize that the report was written during the Trump era and, therefore, relies on the concept of trickle down housing and the good will of developers. However, given the new administration, consultation with HUD, DECD and the Amherst Housing Authority should be integral to any logical revisions of the Town zoning plans and anticipated expenditure of Town funds.

Craig Meadows has lived in the Amherst area for 51 years.  He is a graduate of UMass Amherst. He is a former  member of Town Meeting and has previously served on several Town boards.