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By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — After a joint meeting with the Economic Development Committee on Thursday evening, the Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend changes to the city’s cluster development ordinance.The proposed changes were drafted alongside...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — In an effort to alleviate the city’s housing shortage, Board of Assessors member Chuck Green is proposing an amendment to the city’s zoning ordinances that would allow residents to permanently reside in campers and trailers on private...

By DOMENIC POLI

Community Action Pioneer Valley will be awarded $1.25 million from the federal government to help low-income senior citizens remain in their homes through low-cost home modifications.Energy Director Peter Wingate said the nonprofit plans to use the...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

ORANGE — A decision on whether Leisure Woods Estates can raise its monthly lot fees by 43% was delayed for a second time Wednesday night, as the Mobile Rent Control Board requested the company’s invoices from this year and last, in an effort to ensure...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — The Planning Board has approved several proposed zoning amendments to the city’s cluster development ordinance in an effort to balance open space with a push to grow its housing stock.The city’s cluster development ordinance allows...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — As Gov. Maura Healey and lawmakers celebrated what they called “historic” housing legislation getting signed into law Tuesday, some of the advocates credited with influencing the bill say it is “underwhelming” and watered down, with a number...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMANand DOMENIC POLI

Six Franklin County municipalities are benefiting from a total of $3.9 million in Community Development Block Grants that will support housing, social services, water quality and infrastructure projects.The CDBG program is available to fund housing...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — After substantial public comment and lively discussion weighing the pros and cons of different ways to develop the city’s housing stock on Thursday, the Planning Board began considering the formation of a task force to study the issue...

By SAM DRYSDALE

House and Senate negotiators sent an agreement on a policy-filled $5.16 billion housing bond bill to Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday, potentially salvaging a priority for the House, Senate and governor.A number of policies sponsored by both branches...

By CHRIS LARABEE

ORANGE — A decision on whether Leisure Woods Estates can raise its monthly lot fees by 43% will wait until at least August, as the Mobile Rent Control Board requested additional budget information.Leisure Woods Estates Inc. is petitioning the board to...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — What was once the site of an old farmhouse is now being transformed into an affordable, all-electric one-bedroom home at 184 Petty Plain Road with help from Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.The idea for the project, funded using...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — In an effort to mitigate rising housing costs, which correlate with an increase in homelessness, At-Large Councilor John Garrett is drafting a list of proposed zoning amendments to encourage the creation of more densely populated housing...

By CHRIS LARABEE

The number of homeless people in Franklin County has more than doubled in the last year, as the annual Point-in-Time count in January found 252 people sleeping in shelters or outside, compared to 104 in January 2023.Franklin County accounted for...

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — The owners of Leisure Woods Estates have proposed raising monthly lot fees by 43% and residents of the town’s only rent-controlled mobile home park worry about the financial strain it could put on them.Glenn Gidley, the principal owner of...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Before voting late Thursday night to pass a housing policy and borrowing bill that many say could turn the tides of the housing market, senators adopted an amendment that would prohibit most home purchase offers that are conditioned on the...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — The Property Management Company Community Builders, LLC received more than $12.37 million in state and federal tax credits and subsidies for its conversion of the former Wilson’s Department Store on Main Street into a 61-unit affordable...

By DOMENIC POLI

When talking about affordable housing, as with anything, it is important to separate fact from fiction.It was with this in mind that the Franklin Regional Council of Governments partnered with the Boston-based Citizens’ Housing and Planning...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

The major housing policy and bond bill expected to pass the House this week includes ideas that have the support of a majority of Massachusetts residents across demographic and political groups, like allowing people to build accessory dwellings on...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — There were 3,100 single-family homes sold in Massachusetts last month, and while that number alone may not mean much to those still looking for an affordable home, it may represent a glimmer of hope — it was the largest year-over-year...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — As the city works to develop a comprehensive plan to build housing, residents appeared before Community and Economic Development Department officials and representatives from the urban planning firm CommunityScale on Wednesday to offer...