Housing Headlines

SHELBURNE — The Planning Board is proposing a new open space and development bylaw giving more development options to landowners with parcels of 6 acres or larger — if the buildings are sited to maximize habitat and open space utilizing land-use planning known as cluster zoning.

MEDFIELD --- Having bought 134 of the 249 acres at Medfield State Hospital, the Medfield State Hospital Planning Committee is now holding public meetings on what to do with the land, a discussion that's being guided in part by a poll of 3,000 residents that showed that 40 percent favor recreational use , 36 percent favor open space and 32 percent favor housing (that's over 100 percent so some people must've voted twice). Over 25 percent said they were against using the land for affordable housing.

TYRINGHAM --- The tiny town of Tyringham - population 1,500 in the summer and under 400 in the offseason - completed a quest that began back in 2004 as the town's Affordable Housing Association used $175,000 in funds it has raised to purchase a small home that will be offered to a qualified household as affordable housing.

OAK BLUFFS -- In a shift from its usual focus on creating single homes, the Oak Bluffs Affordable Housing Committee has voted unanimously to work on a Request for Proposals for the construction and management of 32 two-bedroom modular apartments on a 9-acre town site.

MANCHESTER ---On the final night of Town Meeting, Manchester residents voted 136-100 to adopt a local housing trust fund that would be used to create and preserve affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households.

CHELSEA --- The Chelsea Housing Authority has put out an Request for Proposal in hopes of partnering with a private developer in the redevelopment of Union Park Apartments, an eight-building, 96-unit public housing neighborhood on Central Ave. and Walnut Street.