West Springfield to work with Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on affordable housing production plan
The town has received two free technical assistance grants to work with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on a housing production plan and a stormwater ordinance to comply with upcoming changes to West Springfield’s permit from the Environmental Protection Agency. West Springfield Planning Administrator Allyson Manuel announced the news at Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting. The housing production plan is expected to examine West Side’s current needs, including a strategy to develop more affordable units in town. As of September 2017, West Side’s affordable housing stock was around 3.4 percent, or 429 units, according to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development’s Chapter 40B Subsidized Housing Inventory. The state has set a minimum 10 percent affordable housing goal for all commonwealth communities.