CHARLEMONT — Residents say developing affordable housing, increasing the number of restaurants and businesses in town, and growing the population of young people and families should be key priorities in Charlemont’s updated Master Plan.

Roughly 45 community members attended a brainstorming session last week at Hawlemont Regional School to discuss the town’s current conditions as reported by Dodson & Flinker, a Florence-based landscape architecture and planning firm that the town hired to help update its Master Plan. Attendees offered their thoughts on the challenges the town is facing and how those might be addressed in the future.

Eli Bloch, an associate planner with Dodson & Flinker, explained that a Master Plan is a document outlining a town’s goals for the future. Municipalities are required under state law to create one, and are encouraged to review and update it periodically. Charlemont’s Master Plan was last updated in 2003.

“It’s a document or policy guide to help the town assess its strengths or weaknesses, the goals for the town and find actions for achieving those goals,” Bloch said. “So really it’s where are we, where are we going, where do we want to go?”

Residents said some of the town’s biggest challenges that should be addressed are its declining population, limited stock of affordable housing, and lack of businesses and gathering places to draw young people to town. They said even as populations decline, the town still needs its public services such as its Police, Fire and Highway departments, and with fewer people, the town’s remaining population is left shouldering the burden through larger tax bills to maintain the town’s budget.

“As your population decreases, your services stay the same, so it’s an increased burden on the population,” Hawlemont Regional School Principal Amber Tulloch said.

“Every year if feels like we pay more for the same or less,” added Charlemont resident Cheryl Handsaker.

Bloch said that from 2000 to 2020, Charlemont’s population declined by 12.7%, and the population of individuals between the ages of 20 and 44 declined by 50%. Meanwhile, the town has also seen a drop in its number of businesses and the population of school-age children, and housing production has slowed. Only 11% of the town’s housing stock was built after 2000 and only 10 housing units have been built since 2010. Bloch added that most of the town’s existing housing stock is not conducive to welcoming young families, as two-thirds of the homes in Charlemont are designed for just one or two people.

Bloch said zoning regulations, building codes and the town’s geography make construction difficult. Fifty percent of the terrain is considered to be steep slopes and 6.4% falls within a floodplain.

To encourage construction, residents discussed lobbying legislators for changes to state building codes and septic requirements, amending local zoning maps and regulations, limiting the number of short-term rentals and possibly creating a town housing system, where the town buys land and works with developers to create affordable units to lease to first-time homebuyers.

In addition to creating places for people to live, attendees said the town needs to create things for them to do. A lack of affordable housing is a problem statewide, and as towns aim to increase housing stock, they also need to market their communities as an attractive place to move to.

“I think the problem with housing is it’s a challenge every other town is dealing with,” said Planning Board member Bob Nelson. “So how do we draw them here rather than to every other town?”

Residents suggested creating more community events, such as a town picnic and square dance, promoting its natural views and abundant outdoor recreation opportunities, and marketing the town as a great spot for remote workers. Attendees advised the town should also work to support new restaurants, grocery stores and pharmacies.

Additional community input is being sought as town officials work to update the Charlemont Master Plan. Charlemont residents can submit their input at surveymonkey.com/r/Charlemont.

Dodson & Flinker hopes to have an updated Master Plan ready for town review and approval by June.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.