To the Editor,
Manchester will vote November 18th on a plan intended to:
a)Preserve the character of our town; and
b)Comply with the legal requirements of the new Section 3A (aka MBTA) for zoning that allows by-right multifamily housing in certain of our town’s districts (especially near the train station).
We citizens of the town cannot repeal this new state law or revise its related regulation. But we must respond to it, with a plan that identifies 37 acres (0.3% of Manchester’s 11,712 acres) within which multifamily housing can be built by right – i.e. bypassing usual zoning requirements. At 15 housing units per acre these districts are configured to support as many as 559 units – if all were built out. The state also requires that most of these units be market-rate. The plan upon which we will vote includes a provision that 80% of the units be market rate, i.e. 20% to be affordable. The published state 3A regulations require that only 10% be affordable, but the state has agreed to Manchester’s 20% provision.
By-right zoning means that entrepreneurs may build more easily on these 37 acres than in the rest of town. It does not permit that they bypass environmental laws or laws of mathematics. They will find it difficult to achieve an acceptable return on capital invested in costly land and high construction materials and labor, with difficult site conditions in each of the four proposed districts. The actual number of units likely ever to be built under this plan will be fewer than 559, and possibly fewer than 100 – about 4% of our roughly 2,400 existing housing units. 80% of new units – the market-rate ones – will be expensive, likely serving wealthy people, including empty nesters. The impact of these new units on our schools, on our water and sewer systems, and on the rest of our town’s resources will be minimal. The few new units that actually will be built will be dispersed around town as much as state law and economic logic allow.
I am voting for this plan because I believe that its thoughtful design:
1.Keeps Manchester a quaint and quiet New England town;
2.Complies with the state’s legal requirements, including our access to essential state grants; and
3.Provides a pathway for some new housing, including 20% that will be affordable.
Please attend Town Meeting on November 18th and vote in support of this judicious plan for the benefit of all our town’s residents. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
William R. Cross
Manchester
