Town Administrator Michael Mullen, together with members of the Board of Selectmen, is pleased to announce that the Town of Dighton has been awarded a $40,000 state Community Compact Cabinet Grant to update the town’s Housing Production Plan (HPP).
The Community Compact Cabinet Grant awarded technical assistance funds for the Town of Dighton to update its Housing Production Plan. A HPP represents a community plan for affordable housing by creating a strategy that will enable the town to meet its affordable housing requirements in a manner consistent with state law and regulations.
Dighton will partner with the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) to develop the town’s HPP. Over the course of a year and a half, SRPEDD will review demographic and existing housing conditions and trends, while analyzing the town’s available land to identify future sites for affordable housing development. SRPEDD will develop the HPP in partnership with local officials and community members to gather consensus to ensure certification.
Dighton’s efforts to maintain an updated Housing Production Plan dates back to the town’s original plan adopted in February 2009. The town’s last state-certified plan was adopted in 2014. State regulations require Housing Production Plans to be updated and certified every five years.
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Act, also known as “Chapter 40B,” stipulates that all municipalities should have at least 10% of its year-round housing set aside for low- and moderate-income residents. HPPs give communities that are under the 10% threshold of Chapter 40B, but are making steady progress in producing affordable housing on an annual basis, more control over comprehensive permit applications for a specified period of time. Dighton’s current affordable housing percentage is approximately 5.5% of the 10% threshold.
“Receiving a state grant to update Dighton’s Housing Production Plan reflects the town’s ongoing priority to plan for its future,” said Town Administrator Mullen. “Having an updated Housing Production Plan allows Dighton to have more control in considering—and even denying—affordable housing projects not in the town’s best interests, but it’s important to first have a plan in place that reflects consensus and feedback from residents and stakeholders. This is especially critical with regard to the constraints, challenges, opportunities and strengths that need to be reflected in such a plan.”
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