Housing Headlines

WILLIAMSTOWN --- In the wake of a movement by some residents to remain at the flood-ravaged Spurces mobile home park, Town Manager Peter Fohlin met with tenants to ask for their collaboration on a town plan "to re-create the Spruces community" to pre-Tropical Storm Irene conditions on a nearby 30-acre site known as the Lowry property. Fohlin told residents that the town's plan, centered on its application for a $6.25 million Federal Emergency Manage ment Agency (FEMA) grant, was "worth fighting [for]," and that FEMA sees it as an opportunity "to really do some good here" by helping to fund low-cost cottage-style homes on the Lowry property.

DENNIS --- With a study saying year-round rental costs are up 32 percent and the town manager saying many families in Dennis may have to move because of soaring housing costs, the town has passed a bylaw permitting its Affordable Housing Trust greater powers to spend money without needing town meeting approval.

WORCESTER - The city has reached agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state on steps it must take to address ineligible expenditures associated with a private developer's attempt to rehabitate a May St. building into 13 affordable apartments. The city will repay $100,000 to HUD for ineligible expenses for the project that were paid through the Worcester Lead Abatement Program.

WORCESTER --- Governor Patrick put the issue of housing supply and job growth on the front burner last month when he announced a statewide goal of producing 10,000 multifamily units per year for each of the next three years. Speaking on Nov. 13 at a state housing conference in Worcester, Patrick said the goal of keeping young professionals and working familes in Massachusetts hinges on creating more multifamily housing.

WILLIAMSTOWN --- A proposal to relocate a flood-prone mobile home park to a 30-acre site has drawn some opposition from citizens who would like to see the former farm remain undeveloped. The town's Affordable Housing Committee has been taking steps to relocate The Spruces Mobile Home Park to the Lowry Property, a former farm that the town voted to preserve in 1987. Many homes at The Spruces were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irene in 2011 and the town has been exploring whether it can use a FEMA grant to relocate the park, which is home to many lower income senior residents.

BOSTON - Dozens of public housing apartments owned by the Quincy and Canton housing authorities sat vacant for weeks longer than the state-mandated 21 days despite lengthy waiting lists of prospective tenants hoping for a spot to open up, a recent state audit found. Housing Authority officials in both towns said they are releasing units as fast as they can and often have to delay reoccupancy while awaiting funds to do necessary maintenance.