Planning Board Chair to Housing Trust: Relax Zoning to Create More Housing

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Municipal Housing Trust, March 12, 2026

By Maura Keene

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Gaston de los Reyes (chair), Alex Cox, Allegra Clark, Karla Rasche, and Heejae Kim, Bob Pomeroy and Paul Bockelman (Town Manager). Absent: Rob Allingham,

Staff: Greg Richane (Housing Coordinator)

Planning Board Chair Doug Marshall and Senior Planner Nate Malloy came to the March 12 meeting of the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (AMAHT) to inform the trust on the Planning Board’s efforts to increase the housing supply in Amherst and determine ways the two committees could align their priorities to work together.

Malloy reviewed the Planning Board’s efforts to increase housing density in areas of town through creating the University Drive overlay zone and exploring another overlay in North Amherst. Current efforts are focused on densifying East Amherst and on a proposed 150-unit development for families and seniors in North Amherst. There were also ideas expressed about adding housing at the site of the South Amherst School.

He also mentioned increasing housing supply by allowing housing in the Professional Research Park and changing mixed-use building standards in outlying village centers, as well as implementing the downtown design standards and Housing Production Plan.

He added that the town may re-examine its Inclusionary Zoning bylaw for its effectiveness at fulfilling the goal of creating mixed-income housing. He suggested creating a second tier of affordability for those earning up to 120% of area median income (AMI) to increase the availability of workforce housing. This category is now allowed in the state’s new housing law, and has less required documentation for landlords to vet potential tenants. Malloy suggested maintaining 12% of the units in multi-family buildings affordable to those earning 80% of AMI or less and 7% for those earning 80% to 120% of AMI. The proposed North Amherst development would be entirely affordable units. 

AMAHT Chair Gaston de los Reyes suggested that the next time a developer wanted to buy out of creating affordable units, the town could reduce the payment-in-lieu of affordable units in exchange for the creation of workforce affordable housing. 

AMAHT member Allegra Clark asked how the town can get developers to help improve the infrastructure that the new growth requires, such as roads, water, and sewer and to protect neighborhoods from being razed for developments.  She was referring to the Community Benefits Agreements (CBA) that other municipalities have established with developers that allow “communities to promote equitable development practices that advance housing justice. CBAs are legally binding contracts between coalitions of community-based organizations and developers that shape how local development projects contribute to improving the quality of life of nearby residents.”

Marshall stated that the primary way that the town benefits from developers is that they pay real estate taxes, which helps support infrastructure. He added, “If there was a lot of “milk” to be extracted [from developers], I think, we would be seeing a lot more happening right now. The things that happen do happen just because they are finally marginally able to break even or make money, or the zoning allows them. It’s never clear whether additional affordable requirements reduce the number of projects or if they have no effect.”

Town Manager Paul Bockelman noted that Amherst has been building a lot of housing in recent years, more than most communities in Western Massachusetts, but the fire that destroyed the two private dormitories on Olympia Drive meant a loss of property tax revenue for the town that was “devastating to the town budget” as well as a loss of housing. He also said that it was a shame that Way Finders did not get state money to proceed with its affordable housing development at the East Street school and on Belchertown Road. 

De los Reyes asked how AMAHT can contribute to easing Amherst’s housing shortage. He wanted the Planning Board to consider how “small targeted grants [from the trust] can unlock ideas that need to be explored.” 

Marshall replied, “Come to our meetings and when we ask for public comment, raise your hand and tell us you support us in relaxing zoning. We don’t have a consensus in town about how much housing we’d like to see.” He also recommended advocating for zoning changes that can unlock housing at Town Council meetings, because the council must approve zoning changes proposed by the Planning Board. 

A Cautionary Tale from Lexington
However, the March 6 issue of The Boston Globe offered a cautionary tale from Lexington where 227 acres was rezoned in 2023 to allow for buildings up to six stories and increased density with the aim of creating 400 to 800 new housing units over the next decade. The result was that 1,600 units, all in multi-unit buildings, are now under construction or in the approval process in a town with 33,000 residents. The building boom threatens to overwhelm the town’s public safety departments, schools, and roads, and an effort is underway to roll back the zoning changes to 90 acres with tightened height and density requirements. 

Admittedly, Lexington is a much different market than Amherst, but the unanticipated results of zoning changes may be relevant to Amherst as well.