Letter: The Progressive Coalition of Amherst Supports Affordable Housing 

The Progressive Coalition of Amherst (PCA) rejects the recent editorial in MassLive, authored by “the Republican Editorials,” which falsely asserted that PCA opposes affordable housing because of our opposition to the recently withdrawn duplex/triplex zoning bylaw sponsored by Town Councilors Mandi Jo Hanneke and Pat DeAngelis. The editorial curiously targeted PCA alone, even though the proposed zoning changes were unanimously rejected by the Amherst Planning Board and were panned by the Zoning Board of Appeals and were met with widespread public opposition that led the town councilors (Hanneke and DeAngelis) to withdraw their half-baked measure. 

The PCA and the Planning Board objected to the zoning changes because they would have eliminated proper oversight of development. PCA supports the work of all town stakeholders working to find solutions to the housing affordability crisis that do not sacrifice quality of life or community character. 

Councilors Hanneke and DeAngelis admitted publicly that they didn’t really know what would result from their proposal, and that it wouldn’t “guarantee housing affordability.” We are disappointed that the Republican Editorials did not bother requesting comment from PCA for their editorial. 

Progressive Coalition of Amherst Board