Due to the significant number of citizen comments received to the draft Housing Production Plan (HPP), a revised draft will not be available today and the joint meeting of the Board Of Selectmen and Planning Board will not take place on Tuesday, May 12.  The consultants, the planning department and a representative from the Planning Board and Selectmen will be meeting on Wednesday, May 13 to establish a new timeline.

The public comment has period ended. A revised version of the Housing Production Plan (HPP) will be available based on the new timeline that will be announced next week. The Board of Selectmen and Planning Board will hold a follow-up joint meeting at a date to be determined. At this meeting, the consultants will provide an overview of the revisions made to the HPP and explain how each comment was handled. The Board of Selectmen and Planning Board will consider adoption of the HPP at this future meeting. To view the initial draft plan click here.

The HPP as its commonly known, identifies the housing needs of a community and the goals and strategies it will use to identify and achieve the 40B 10% threshold.

By taking this proactive approach in the adoption of an HPP, we are much more likely to achieve our affordable housing planning goals. Since the fall, the planning department has led a HPP process to renew our plan. This included significant local input through focus groups, a community-wide survey and workshops. The plan provides a constant framework from prior efforts, and outlines the baseline needs as well as goals and strategies – some aspirational, and some more practical.

An approved HPP gives communities under the 10% threshold of Chapter 40B (such as Acton), but are making progress in producing affordable housing more control over comprehensive permit applications through a ‘safe harbor’ for a specified period of time, which is where we are. We have a achieved a safe harbor with our current HPP through July 2021.

The HPP is valid for 5-years, and our current plan expires in August 2020.