Affordable Housing Development
The Easton Affordable Housing Production Plan includes a recommendation to investigate whether land taken through tax possession can support affordable housing development, and a recommendation to support the development of housing affordable to low-income families. CPA funds have been used to perform engineering and survey work to implement this recomendation in the plan.
Development at 12A Highland Street
Project Summary. The proposed project is to create one unit of affordable housing, designed to fit in with the historic character of the Furnace Village neighborhood in which the parcel is located.
- The site (#12A Highland Street) is a vacant parcel of land consisting of approximately 32,125 square feet situated along the southerly side of Highland Street and located within a residential neighborhood. The Town intends to convey fee ownership of the parcel subject to a deed restriction that the lot will be used for the purpose of constructing and selling one homeownership unit with no more than three (3) bedrooms for qualified first-time homebuyers with incomes at or below 80% of area median income (AMI). The unit must be sold in accordance with regulations and guidelines of the Local Initiative Program, 760 CMR 45.00 and qualify for inclusion on the Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI). As such, the unit must be priced for sale to households with incomes that do not exceed 70% of AMI.
Proposal Deadline: Interested organizations must submit seven (7) copies of proposals on or before 3:30 P.M. EST, Thursday, February 26, 2010 at which time all proposals received will be opened and recorded in public. Proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope and addressed to the Chief Procurement Officer, David Colton:
David Colton, Town Administrator Town Offices 136 Elm Street North Easton, MA 02356All communications regarding this RFP must be made in writing to David Colton, Town Manager, 136 Elm Street, North Easton, MA 02356. Emailed questions may be addressed to dcolton@easton.ma.us. Answers to relevant questions will be posted on the Town’s website on the Department of Planning & Community Development’s homepage no later than Monday, February 15, 2010. Only questions received by 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, 2010 will be considered. Phone calls will not be accepted.
- Pre-Submission Meeting: There will be a pre-submission briefing on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in the Selectmen’s Room, 136 Elm Street, North Easton, MA. If the Town Hall is closed at the time of the pre-submission briefing due to uncontrolled events such as fire, snow, or building evacuation, the briefing will be postponed until 10:00 a.m. on the next business day. The meeting will be followed by a brief tour of the property. The pre-submission meeting is recommended, but not required.
How will this benefit Easton?
There is a significant, documented need in Easton for the development of affordable family housing. Easton will benefit from the development of this property as affordable housing by:
- Reintroducing this property to the tax rolls
- Increasing the Commonwealth Capital Score by 3-5%, making the Town more likely to be awarded competitive grant funding for roadway and conservation land acquisition projects
- Successfully implementing the Affordable Housing Planned Production Plan
- Increasing the supply of housing affordable to Easton families in need
Project History
View the feasibility plan for the development of 12A Highland Street by clicking here.
Engineering and site survey work performed using CPA funds successfully identified 12A Highland Street as being suitable for the development of a single three-bedroom house, the construction of which would be allowed as-of-right under the Easton Zoning By Law. Development of affordable housing at 249 Prospect Street was determined to be unfeasible.
The Town of Easton adopted the Affordable Housing Production Plan in 2005, which included a recommendation to determine whether any of the Town’s small parcels could support housing development. Pursuant to this recommendation, Department of Planning & Community Development staff reviewed all municipally owned parcels using the following criteria. To be considered potentially suitable, a lot had to be
- Greater than one-half an acre in size
- Accessible to a public way
- Unrestricted as to use (i.e. not under a conservation restriction)
- Containing sufficient upland area to be potentially buildable, based on MassGIS wetlands data
Of more than 380 parcels reviewed, only 12 met all of the criteria established. Staff evaluated each lot with the Housing Partnership (now, the Fair & Affordable Housing Partnership) and performed a site visit on each lot. Ten of the 12 lots were found to be unsuitable for development because of the presence of wetlands. Town Meeting voted in May 2009 to fund a feasibility study on the two remaining lots, 249 Prospect Street and 12A Highland Street. Based on the conclusions of that study, Town Meeting voted in October, 2009 to authorize the Board of Selectmen to dispose of the property for the purpose of developing affordable housing.
The work performed included:
- Development of a survey plan for each lot
- Hiring an engineer to perform soil tests to determine if the site is suitable for a septic system
- Preparation of preliminary site plans, showing the location of a spetic system and setback from the property line for the proposed house
A preliminary engineering report indicates that 12A Highland Street is suitable for the development of a single three-bedroom home. Read the report here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who will build the housing? How will the construction be funded?
A nonprofit developer would be chosen through a Request For Proposal (RFP). Staff recommends that one of the selection criteria be the ability of the developer to fully finance the construction of the house.
How will families be selected?
Families will be selected through a lottery process. Eligibility for entrance to the lottery will be based on income and household size.
Is the proposed project a 40B/Comprehensive Permit?
No. Based on the findings of the feasibility study, the best way to developer 12A Highland Street as affordable housing would be as a three-bedroom single-family home, which would be allowed as-of-right under the Easton Zoning By Law. All local Board of Health and wetlands protection regulations would apply.
Please contact me with any questions you may have.
Timothy Harrigan
Community Housing Planner
508-230-0630
email: tharrigan@easton.ma.us