SHELBURNE — A town master plan, written more than 20 years ago, said the village needed more affordable housing in order to thrive. And today, the findings of a recent survey show that need has only grown stronger — as more residents age and fewer young families can afford available homes.
On Wednesday, Nov. 28, the Planning Board will hold an information session on proposed zoning bylaw changes at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall. The discussion will include “affordable housing incentive zoning,” reduced minimum lot sizes in parts of the village, and other initiatives.
According to a study this year by the Shelburne Housing Plan Committee, assisted by the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, the number of residents over age 65 in Shelburne are expected to almost double – from 20 percent in 2010 to 39 percent in 2035. Meanwhile, families with children ages 18 or under have decreased by 21 percent between 2000 and 2010. The reason for that decline, says the study, is that 54 percent of residents earn what is considered a low-income; an “affordable” home for Shelburne’s median household income would cost about $180,000 — but the median sales price last year was about $296,000.
Low vacancy rates are pushing up both rents and sale prices of homes. With only 1 percent of the housing stock for sale and only 4 percent of rental apartments vacant, about 27 percent of homeowners in town spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, while 39 percent of renters spend too much.
In a 2017 survey, 93 respondents said the town needed more “starter” homes for first-time buyers, more affordable senior housing, more affordable apartments and family housing, and an assisted living facility for seniors and people with disabilities.
About 84 percent of those taking the survey wanted to see the re-use of existing buildings within the village. Almost half the respondents wanted to see the creation of new subdivision roads and building lots where at least 50 percent of development is preserved as open space, on vacant or “oversized” lots within the village, and along existing roads outside the village.
The Planning Board and FRCOG have been meeting since April on the zoning changes, which include:
■Reducing the minimum lot size in the village/residential area, closest to the downtown center, from 20,000 square feet (about half an acre) to 8,000 square feet.
■Reducing the minimum lot size in the village/commercial area from 20,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet.
■Reducing minimum frontage in the village residential district from 100 feet to 50 feet.
The maximum building height in town would remain 35 feet, the plan would focus the “infill” of smaller homes on lots where public water and sewer infrastructure already exists. The goal would be to encourage developers to include affordable housing in residential and mixed-use development, encourage affordable housing in close proximity to jobs, schools, shopping and public transportation, and to create more subsidized housing inventory.
As part of an affordable housing incentive zoning proposal, “zero-lot line development may be approved for single-family homes in the village/commercial and the most dense village/residential section. These would be two side-by-side adjoining single-family homes that share lot.
There are village design guidelines for new homes: they should “reflect the historic character” of surrounding homes and maintain the orientation, scale, and setback pattern of surrounding homes.
The Planning Board is seeking feedback on its proposal, which may be brought to annual town meeting for a final vote.
More information is available online at: