Housing Production Plan Update Approved by Select Board and Planning Board

The Planning Board and Select Board recently approved an update to the Town’s Housing Production Plan (HPP). The Plan update was developed with the assistance of the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments (NMCOG) and lead by the Town’s Affordable Housing Committee.

The Town’s HPP is required by 760 CMR 56.03, Methods to Measure Progress Toward Local Affordable Housing Goals, part of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC, formerly the Department of Housing and Community Development, DHCD) regulations implementing the Massachusetts General Law (M.G.L.) Chapter 40B, Sections 20 through 23, also known as the Comprehensive Permit Statute. Through funding provided by the EOHLC under the District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) program, NMCOG staff worked closely with Town staff, the Planning Board, the Select Board, and the public during 2022 and 2023 to complete this plan.

In meeting the Chapter 40B statute and regulation for affordable housing production, EOHLC requires that each municipality develop a five-year plan consisting of a Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment, Affordable Housing Goals, and Implementation Strategies. The HPP must have a goal of achieving 10% of the Town’s total year-round housing units on its Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI). As of 2010, the Town had 1,085 year-round housing units, meaning it has a goal of 109 Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) units at the time of writing.

The Town’s latest (May 2022) Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) count contained no affordable units. Because Dunstable has not exceeded the 10% statutory minima, the state’s Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) may overturn decisions by the Zoning Board of Appeals on Comprehensive Permit projects. Furthermore, this 10% goal will be adjusted upward when the final 2020 Decennial Census counts are released. Even more critically, the Town is striving to ensure to fill gaps between the affordable housing supply and housing demand that exist, providing accessible and affordable housing to community members with a range of incomes, household characteristics, and demographic qualities.

The Dunstable Housing Production Plan for 2023-2027 outlines a housing production schedule that addresses the community’s local housing needs, while also meeting the state’s requirements as outlined under Chapter 40B and 760 CMR 56.03.

To view the updated plan, please see the document below. The Town’s next step is to submit the HPP to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for their review and approval.