Plymouth Housing and Zoning

In 2023, the Town of Plymouth, NH, hired Barrett to analyze its housing needs and assist with zoning reform to encourage housing development. Funding for the project came from New Hampshire’s Housing Opportunity Grant (HOP) Program, which provides grants to communities interested in updating their land use regulations to increase opportunities for housing production.

The Barrett team was engaged to focus on three core initiatives for Plymouth:

  • Housing needs assessment to review Plymouth’s housing stock, community demographics, economic trends, and other relevant data  
  • Regulatory audit of land use regulations related to housing (zoning, site planning review, subdivision regulations)
  • Zoning amendments consistent with identified community values, housing needs, and regulatory barriers 

Barrett’s research and audit revealed a complex set of issues, particularly in relation to zoning. Land use ordinances that had been modified over time were now inconsistent and unclear. In addition, the long-standing conservative approach to development led to stricter dimensional regulations, substantially limiting opportunities for housing diversity and choice. These gradual changes rendered many properties nonconforming, making even simple building projects (a deck addition, for example) a challenge for many residents.

Led by Judi Barrett, our team proposed significant tactical changes to the Town’s land use regulations – all within the context of a participatory community planning effort co-led by the Town’s Housing Committee. Through interactive public forums, smaller focus groups, surveys, and educational materials, we gained public input and educated the community about the purpose and intent of proposed regulatory amendments.  

The town demonstrated a remarkable show of support for zoning reform. In March 2024, the Planning Board presented a substantial slate of regulatory amendments to the community, and Town Meeting voted to adopt all articles with broad support.

Among the accomplishments achieved, this package of zoning amendments:

  • Reduced the minimum lot size for single family homes, bringing many properties back into conformity with zoning and enabling greater density in future development
  • Created additional categories of housing within the zoning ordinance and reduced barriers to developing smaller multi-unit dwellings in select districts
  • Overhauled the open space residential development ordinance 
  • Provided for the ability to place multiple dwellings on a single lot
  • Reduced permitting barriers for accessory dwelling units
  • Majorly reformed off-street parking requirements

This outstanding feat was made possible by the efforts of the Town’s Housing Committee and Planning Board, Planning Department staff, community, and all involved.

Attleboro Housing Needs Assessment

In 2023, the City of Attleboro hired Barrett Planning Group to conduct a Housing Needs Assessment. The
study was a directive of newly elected Mayor Catherine DeSimone in order to better understand and
advance the City’s housing gaps and strategies. In support of the project, Mayor DeSimone appointed a
seven-member Housing Needs Assessment Steering Committee to guide the process.
Working with the steering committee and the Attleboro Department of Planning and Development, the
Barrett team has developed a draft comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment comprised of two
essential components:

  • Phase one includes a data-driven needs analysis focused on three areas: an inventory of existing conditions, gaps between housing stock and needs, and barriers to housing.
  • Phase two expands upon this research by outlining housing goals and strategies to address the housing needs determined from phase one, as well as input from the community. These recommendations include strategies for zoning, planning, housing advocacy, and increased capacity for addressing housing needs.

One of the most significant recommendations is a proposal to establish an Affordable Housing Trust, a key municipal tool for creating and preserving housing for low- and moderate-income households. The City is moving forward with this recommendation and has begun exploring the process of establishing a trust with our assistance.

As is the hallmark of many of our projects, we employed a strong community engagement process to complement and inform our research and recommendations. This process included an initial online community survey and two in-person community meetings. Using open discussion and interactive stations during each meeting, we solicited feedback on a number of topics including housing types, housing needs and potential strategies.

At their September meeting, the Housing Needs Assessment Steering Committee approved the draft plan, which Barrett will then present to the Municipal Council later this fall. In the meantime, our team continues to assist the City with other projects, including an update to the City’s 2012 Comprehensive Plan and a newly-launched Route 1/1A Corridor Study.

Moving Beyond the Pandemic in the Pioneer Valley

Economic Development Assessment of Small Towns & Rural Communities

In 2022, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) hired Barrett Planning Group to assess local economic conditions and the state of economic recovery in the 35 small towns and rural communities in Hampshire County and Hampden County. We consulted with local officials, town planners, and regional economic development and community development organizations, and gathered, analyzed, and mapped available market, economic, land use, housing, and labor force data.

From these many sources and others, we created 35 town profiles with maps and economic metrics, and developed recommendations for PVPC and the communities to move forward with economic development activities scaled to the size and character of these small communities:

  • Improving regional communications and coordination
  • Activating strategies for promoting local businesses
  • Addressing the region’s housing affordability and housing supply constraints
  • Holding regional and inter-local economic development roundtables
  • Building recreational, agricultural, and heritage tourism development
  • Zoning reform: aligning local control with twenty-first century zoning
  • Working on local economic development assessments

On December 9, 2022, American Planning Association Massachusetts awarded the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission the 2022 Planning Project Award to this project.

Learn more about other award recipients here:
https://www.apa-ma.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-APA-MA-Awards-1.pptx.pdf

Salisbury Master Plan Update

Master Plan Update for the Town of Salisbury, MA

Salisbury Town Hall, Salisbury, Massachusetts. Click to enlarge photo.
Town of Salisbury Transportation Snapshot, Salisbury Master Plan Update with Barrett Planning Group. Click to enlarge the graphic.

The Town of Salisbury hired Barrett Planning Group to partially update its 2008 Master Plan. Our team, in cooperation with Town Staff and a local Master Plan Committee, crafted new existing conditions reports and new sets of long-term goals and strategies for five elements: Land Use, Transportation, Community Health, Climate Change, and Economic Development.

We also developed an implementation plan to guide the Town over the plan’s fifteen-year lifespan. We conducted a community-wide survey and held two public community meetings to support this effort, offering in-person and remote options for both. We used mapping exercises, small and large group discussions, and open house-style stations to engage with the community about their vision for Salisbury’s future.

We produced a succinct but content-rich final document including maps and infographics for every chapter, which was adopted by the Salisbury Planning Board in October 2022.

Map of Town of Salisbury, Massachusetts, showing Sea Level Rise. Click to view larger.

Brewster Housing Production Plan

Town of Brewster Massachusetts 2022-2027 Housing Production Plan

The Town of Brewster hired Barrett Planning Group LLC to update their 2017 Housing Production Plan (HPP) in January 2022. Over a six-month period, our team collaborated closely with Town staff and the Brewster Housing Partnership to develop a plan that outlined realistic strategies for addressing Brewster’s unique housing challenges as a coastal community with an increasing demand for seasonal and short-term rentals, sensitive environmental concerns, and a seemingly growing household income gap.

We grounded the plan’s development by centering our community engagement around:

  • The state’s required framework for HPPs under Chapter 40B
  • Progress the Town made in implementing the 2017 HPP
  • Changes in demographic and market trends — and resulting housing needs — at the local and regional level
  • Feedback from the community, including those experiencing housing instability themselves and those who work directly with households requiring assistance
  • The HPP’s relationship to other local and regional planning efforts, most notably the Town’s Local Comprehensive Plan and the Cape Cod Commission’s Regional Policy Plan

After drafting the plan’s strategies, we engaged various community partners instrumental to the HPP’s implementation — including Town staff, members from various Town bodies, realtors, developers, housing and service providers, and others — to ensure the solutions we proposed were feasible and actionable. The Town’s Planning Board and Select Board were presented with the draft HPP in June 2022 and given opportunity to provide feedback before they unanimously approved the plan in July 2022. The MA Department of Housing and Community Development approved the plan in August 2022.

Carlisle Master Plan Steering Committee Forum

On September 29, 2021, Alexis Lanzillotta and the Carlisle Master Plan Steering Committee (MPSC) held a hybrid forum for the Master Plan to discuss proposed plan recommendations. Barrett Planning Group group began working with the Town of Carlisle’s MPSC in May 2021 to help facilitate the completion of their master plan. A previous forum held in June 2021 allowed residents to review and discuss the plan’s draft vision statement, values, and goals, and the September forum showcased the MPSC’s subsequent work on developing draft recommendations.

Residents were able to share feedback on these recommendations, providing Barrett Planning Group and the Carlisle MPSC with helpful guidance to fine-tune the plan in its final phases of development.

Thank you to the nonprofit newspaper, Carlisle Mosquito, for its coverage of this forum.

“Master Plan Forum gathers community input on draft recommendations.”, by Sarah Hart for Carlisle Mosquito, Oct. 6, 2021.