Letter: Response to Comments on Housing Directed Our Way from Dillion Maxfield

By, Pam Rooney and Jennifer Taub

We are writing to clear up some misunderstandings that Dillon Maxfield seems to have regarding our positions. In a recent Amherst Indy comment, Maxfield asserts: “We need student housing, we haven’t built any in the last 10 years.”

In fact, over the past ten years, the following apartment complexes have come online: Kendrick Place, One East Pleasant, 11 East Pleasant, 26 Spring Street, 70 University, One University Drive South, Olympia Place, and Sunset-Fearing. Most of the tenants in these properties are students. Some, if not many of these units, are designed with student tenants in mind. An additional apartment complex, Fieldstone (on Lincoln and Mass Ave.), added 800+ plus beds strictly for students.

Admittedly, rents in each of the aforementioned buildings are extremely high — even for students who share expenses; for working households, these rents are completely out of reach.

Maxfield continues, “We haven’t been building student housing, we’ve been building the “missing middle” and it’s being taken by students, because the demand is so high and the supply is so limited.” Again, the developers are not building for the “missing middle”, but rather housing that’s priced at the highest point the market can bear. We contend that equates to housing for students who split the rent.

These new units have added to the housing inventory but have not lowered homeowner’s property taxes or increased homeownership opportunities in Amherst. In fact, over the past ten years, even with the addition of large apartment complexes, the cost of purchasing a home in Amherst has only increased. So, Maxfield is correct, even with all this new construction, it hasn’t made his prospects for purchasing a home in Amherst any more attainable.

As for Maxfield’s contention that homeowners are not impacted by rising costs, it should be noted that even with the roughly $1.9 million in taxes that eight of the new apartment complexes combined contribute to the town’s coffers, no homeowners’ property taxes have gone down, but many have seen substantial increases.

Maxfield suggests that neighbors who attended ZBA hearings for Barry Roberts’ Sunset-Fearing townhouses objected to the proposed density of the project. Actually, they were not objecting to the project’s density. Rather, they were objecting to the number of 4-bedroom units which would be priced at $4200 – $4500/month. The neighbors requested a substitution of more 2-3-bedroom units in the hopes that the rents on those smaller apartments would be priced so that more working households might have a chance of living there.  

Finally, as town councilors we represent District 4, which contains most of the only two General Residence (RG) zones in Amherst. The RGs are zoned for greater density than all other residential districts in town. We have single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and apartments. We are home to renters and homeowners alike, including both students and non-students.

Maxfield states, “My opponents are progressive in the sense that they welcome everyone into Amherst… so long as they’re a doctor, lawyer, or well-paid professional.” Sorry Mr. Maxfield, but both of us spent our careers in the not-for-profit sector, and our neighborhoods are comprised of a wide mix of professions and income levels. Many are affiliated with our local colleges and university, and many have also spent their careers in the not-for-profit fields.

Pam Rooney
Jennifer Taub

Pam Rooney and Jennifer Taub are Amherst Town Councilors representing District 4.