making housing affordable
- Stephanie Boyd
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
Last week, the Healey administration announced that Williamstown was among 43 cities and towns across Massachusetts that earned the 2025 Housing Choice Initiative designation. This designation recognizes our efforts to make housing more affordable. In Berkshire County, Williamstown, Pittsfield and Great Barrington received the designation.
“The high cost of housing is one of the greatest challenges facing Massachusetts residents, and communities across the state are stepping up to meet it,” said Governor Maura Healey. “It’s great that these 43 cities and towns are doing the work to create more reasonably-priced homes, support their residents and lead by example. The Housing Choice designation is one of the many ways we partner with communities to help them build housing and lower costs for us all.”
To qualify for the Housing Choice designation, municipalities must meet specific benchmarks for housing production over the past five years and demonstrate progress in implementing local policies and best practices. The Housing Choice Initiative provides designated municipalities with exclusive access to the Housing Choice Grant Program and additional benefits through partner programs across multiple state agencies.
Williamstown qualified as a Housing Choice community by adding more than 5% to our housing inventory since 2020 by constructing or permitting a total of 155 units. Not all are on line yet, for example, the Cable Mills Phase III is under construction. Some housing units for rent and some are reserved for purchase.
In the past 10 years, we have permitted more than 144 income restricted housing units. Of those 117 have been built.
Highland Woods, 60 units. This development is limited to those aged 55 or more and whose income is below 60% of Area Median Income (AMI)
330 Cole Avenue, 42 units: no age restriction and income below 60% of AMI
Cable Mills Phase I, 13 of the total 61 units are income restricted below 80% of AMI
Cable Mills Phase III, 27 of the 54 units under construction will be income restricted at various levels. No fewer than 8 units will be affordable to those earning up to 30% of AMI, and at least 19 will be meet the needs of those earning 60% AMI.
Habitat for Humanity, 2 single family homes
Zoning Changes
In addition to these increases in our housing stock, several zoning changes have been implemented to support housing development. A few notable changes approved at Town Meetings recently are:
In 2019, we voted to allow Accessory Dwelling Units in residential zones
In 2023, we allowed 3- and 4- family units in the General Residence (GR) zone where only a few years earlier only single family homes were allowed.
Also in 2023, we reduced the lot frontage requirements in General Residence from 100 ft to 66 ft.
In 2025, short term rental rules were enacted, in part, to limit the number of rental units we lose to the hotel industry.
In 2021, the state enacted zoning law amendments to make it easier for local governments to pass zoning bylaws by lowering the required voting threshold from a two-thirds supermajority to a simple majority for proposed zoning changes that increase density particularly near transportation corridors.
In 2023, the Planning Board, proposed allowing manufactured housing in all residential zones in Williamstown as a means to lower the construction cost of new homes. This article, which required a 2/3 majority, lost by just a handful of votes.
What's next?
As much as we should celebrate housing successes in our town and across the state, we know there is much work to be done. In Massachusetts, between 2016 and 2024, the median listing price of a house increased by more than $360,000 or 82%. More than 1/2 of Massachusetts renters are rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing related costs.
We'll need to continue to tackle the housing issue from many angles, such as:
increasing the number of housing units,
reducing skyrocketing housing prices through deed restrictions on new and existing units,
supporting the development of more affordable and market rate units,
ensuring taxes are affordable at all income levels,
supporting initiatives that lower the cost of housing like energy usage, and
improving transportation infrastructure.
Currently the Planning Board is working on improvements to the subdivision bylaws. The goal is to make it easier and faster for developers to build the infrastructure necessary to support a housing development.
The Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) is supporting the development of 4 income restricted homes on Summer St. in partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
The AHT is also beginning to explore opportunities to support additional affordable housing initiatives. Historically much of the funding for affordable housing projects has come from Community Preservation Act tax revenue. Are there other mechanisms for funding? Some communities have adopted real estate transfer tax on high value homes and use the proceeds to fund housing projects. We might also want to consider buying deed restrictions on existing homes in addition to constructing new homes with deed restrictions like we do in the Habitat for Humanity or Cable Mills.
If you'd like to get involved in this important work, please reach out!
