A new state program aimed at making it more affordable for property owners to build accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, on their land has largely received support from Franklin County officials and housing organizers, though some questioned the efforts’ ability to make a difference locally.
The state’s new ADU campaign, which Gov. Maura Healey announced earlier this month, will fund design assistance and provide financial support for those who wish to build ADUs, also known as “granny flats” or “in-law apartments,” near their homes. It would also make ADU design blueprints public so that they are more readily available for public use.
Greenfield City Council Vice Chair John Garrett, who has long advocated for city action to ramp up housing production, commended the state for its efforts to make ADUs more affordable. He said he predicts the state’s ADU Incentive Program, funded by $10 million over two years from the governor’s Capital Investment Plan for fiscal years 2026 to 2030, will “move the needle” slightly toward housing growth, but the change may not be drastic.
“I obviously applaud the governor’s efforts here. We could use more money that I’m sure we’re going to get — $10 million, it’s not going to go very far in the entire commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Garrett noted. “This is really good. It’s not going to move the needle tremendously in Greenfield, in my opinion, but it’s definitely better than doing nothing, which is what we did, until relatively recently, on housing. I’m thrilled about it.”
In addition to the incentive program, the ADU Design Challenge, sponsored by Eastern Bank Foundation, The Boston Foundation, the architectural firm AIA Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, will invite architects and other design professionals to submit replicable ADU prototypes that can be adapted by homeowners and local builders.
The Design Challenge aims to reduce pre-development costs by making high-quality designs publicly available and streamline permitting by encouraging zoning-compliant designs. According to Healey’s office, the challenge has already received between $60,000 and $70,000 in sponsor commitments to support the contest, prizes and outreach. Design winners will be announced in April of next year.
“The plans that are ready to go is interesting, because that is a cost savings for people building ADUs and it can make a real difference for local construction companies. … If you’re in Lexington or Concord or these other high-cost-of-living areas, there’s lots of companies out there ready to do the work, and so they’re going to get more ADU production. One of the challenges we have is we don’t have a lot of folks yet,” Garrett said. “Having off-the-shelf plans ready for new construction companies that want to take advantage of the change in the law, that’s really interesting and it could be helpful.”
State financing for ADU construction, funded through MassHousing and included in Healey’s ADU campaign, aims to make ADU construction more feasible for low- and moderate-income homeowners beginning in 2026. The funding will come from a $20 million pool authorized for mission-oriented homeownership activities.
‘It opens up possibilities’
Housing Greenfield Coordinator Susan Worgaftik said she believes state assistance for ADU construction could help remedy the lack of affordability for Greenfield homeowners to build ADUs. She noted that while the concept of an ADU might be appealing for some homeowners, it may not be the most cost-effective or affordable option.
“During the whole process of talking about ADUs in Greenfield, we heard from people who said, ‘I’d like to do this, but I can’t afford it.’ The main houses in our community are often valued at the same, or only slightly more than, the construction of an ADU. This [campaign] opens up the playing field a little bit for folks who really want to do this,” Worgaftik said. “It opens up possibilities for those who are interested, but do not have the equity in their home or do not have the capacity to be able to get a loan at this point.”
Public discourse on Greenfield’s ADU ordinance has included criticism from residents such as Al Norman, Mitchell Speight and Joan Marie Jackson, who previously rallied in favor of new local regulations.
Earlier this year, the trio filed a citizen’s petition urging City Council to pass zoning changes that would consider units that exist within a principal dwelling as ADUs, limit the number of ADUs allowable on a single-family lot to only one and mandate that any use of an ADU that requires a special permit be brought before the Planning Board for a site plan review. The petition failed on the council floor when it was put to a vote in May.
Norman, in an interview following the state’s launch of its ADU assistance, explained that he has never, and still does not believe ADUs are a “significant route to homeownership.” Expressing appreciation for the state’s efforts to make them more affordable, Norman added that he believes taxpayer money would be better spent by ensuring Greenfield residents have the opportunity to secure higher-paying jobs.
“It won’t make much of a difference in a community like Greenfield, where there isn’t a lot of money to go around,” Norman said. “We’re going to need better-paying jobs. … We’re starting at the wrong end of the process — we need to build home ownership by increasing wages before we build homes.”
In Deerfield, Planning and Economic Development Coordinator Alexandria Galloway has been working to bring the town closer to a Housing Choice Community designation from the state — a move that’s expected to qualify the town for increased grant funding.
Galloway said Deerfield’s relatively large senior population would benefit greatly from a more affordable ADU construction process. She mentioned that if seniors choose to downsize to ADUs, it could clear up housing inventory for new residents.
“By all demographic standards, we have a more senior population than most communities. I think there are actually members in the community who are buying homes that have ADU potential, or considering moving in with their grandkids,” Galloway said. “If that happens, maybe that would open up some additional housing for more younger families. We do have declining enrollment in schools and just a declining population across Franklin County and in western Mass. … Anything we can do to help catalyze that growth would be great.”
Deerfield Planning Board Chair Denise Mason echoed Galloway’s remarks, explaining that while she is not yet sure where ADUs could best fit in Deerfield, she believes they can serve as suitable housing options for seniors.
Mason also clarified that since properties in the center of South Deerfield are mainly connected to public sewer, rather than private septic tanks, the area would be better suited for ADU production.
“I really don’t know how many ADUs we’d be able to have in Deerfield. I know one thing that our Senior Housing Committee is working on is building senior housing on our [municipal] campus,” she said. “The idea is that there are a number of seniors — probably in the center of town, maybe elsewhere — who are probably over-housed. Hopefully they would be able to move into senior housing, and their house could potentially become multiple ADUs.”
Healey’s office, in a statement, wrote that cities and towns across the state reported nearly 900 applications for ADUs in the first six months after the Affordable Homes Act, which allows ADUs to be built by-right in single-family zoning districts, was signed into law.
“ADUs are an effective tool for increasing housing production and lowering costs across the state. They offer opportunities for people to age independently near their loved ones, people with disabilities to stay close to their parents and young adults to start saving to buy a home,” Healey said in a statement. “We’re glad to see hundreds of people take steps to create ADUs thanks to the Affordable Homes Act, and this new campaign will help us build on this progress by making it easier to design, finance and build these homes. Together, we can increase the production of reasonably priced housing across the state and lower costs for everyone.”