Many well-meaning South Hadley residents say they want affordable housing in South Hadley, but stop short when it comes to supporting the policy changes required to help us reach that goal.

For years our town has offered limited housing options to residents. This May, Town Meeting members have an opportunity to take the first step toward meeting the diverse housing needs of town residents. The Planning Board has proposed bylaws that will permit the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units or ADUs — self-contained housing units on the same lot as the principal dwelling that can help to meet the diverse housing needs of town residents.

There are many poignant examples of town residents who cannot find suitable housing for themselves or their loved ones. One couple would like their disabled adult daughter to live in an ADU on their property so she can live independently and not have to go up and down their basement stairs to get to her bedroom. Another resident is at risk of being displaced and potentially becoming homeless because they cannot find a dwelling that will accommodate their wheelchair.

Comments on social media by renters in South Hadley regularly describe the difficulties of finding affordable rental housing in town. These are just a few of the town residents who would be helped if our representatives pass the proposed bylaw.

America is facing a housing crisis. Nationally, we have a housing shortfall of close to 7 million units. This shortage reflects the cumulative effects of decreased housing production after the market collapse in 2008 and supply chain issues resulting from the pandemic. University of Massachusetts’ Donahue Institute estimates that Hampshire County will have a housing deficit of over 3,500 units by 2025. The shortfall is especially dire for small-scale, affordable and middle-class housing, as market-driven development pushes homes to be ever larger despite decreasing average household sizes.

In South Hadley, 55% of our residential stock is “family-sized,” meaning there are three or more bedrooms. Considering that only 18% of households have children living at home, this figure is disproportionately large. Although 73% of households are singles or couples living alone, only 13% of homes in South Hadley are one-bedrooms or studios (SH Housing Needs and Demand Assessment, January 2023). This reflects a mismatch between the current housing needs in town and the existing housing stock.

ADUs can address many of these problems. By definition in the proposed bylaw, ADUs will not be larger than half of the floor area of the primary dwelling or a maximum of 900 square feet, meaning that these would be small units, typically a studio or one bedroom, exactly the scale that is needed in town.

ADUs offer several environmental and economic benefits. They can gently increase housing density by tying into existing infrastructure and neighborhoods, thereby easing development pressure on farmland and open space. Economically, a second unit can provide much-needed rental income to an owner, enabling them to stay in their home or buy into a desirable neighborhood.

Due to their size, ADUs can be built more affordably, and new construction can readily be built as net-zero so there are minimal ongoing expenses for heating and cooling.

ADUs may be attached to the principal dwelling, or they may be detached units. Detached ADUs have some additional advantages. They can be designed as accessible units without the need for costly and cumbersome ramp retrofits that announce the residents’ ambulatory challenges. The Commission on Disability in South Hadley strongly supports both detached and attached ADUs for keeping people in their neighborhoods and with their existing support networks.

In addition to these social equity benefits, detached ADUs offer additional benefits. They can be built off-site, and pre-fab options can be much more affordable than site-built additions. They can provide spatial independence and autonomy to residents — this might be important for a young adult just starting out and needing to save money for a down payment, and for older residents who no longer want to take care of a full house but want to stay in their neighborhood and age in place.

The primary residence could be rented out to a young growing family and both parties can maintain a sense of autonomy, while also providing neighborly support to each other. For this reason, the South Hadley Council on Aging is also supportive of the ADU bylaw as written. In addition, a detached ADU would not trigger prohibitively expensive building code requirements for fire separation that make it difficult for homeowners to create attached ADUs.

Aesthetically, ADUs can be made to look attractive and reference our existing typologies of barns, carriage houses and garages — detached structures that are already part of our neighborhoods and New England vernacular.

So, at Town Meeting, let’s make sure that the public interest is served by voting to pass the proposed Accessory Dwelling Unit bylaw. If South Hadley is truly going to be an inclusive and welcoming community, we need to keep all options and tools on the table to create affordable housing that is accessible, sustainable, beautiful and in keeping with the character of our beloved neighborhoods.

We urge all citizens to reach out to their Town Meeting members expressing support to approve the Accessory Dwelling Unit Bylaw as proposed so that we can vote this bylaw in on May 10.

Naomi Darling of South Hadley serves on the South Hadley Housing Committee and is a Five Colleges associate professor of sustainable architecture at Mount Holyoke College and UMass Amherst. Preston Smith II is a South Hadley Town Meeting Member (Precinct D) and Class of 1926 professor of politics at Mount Holyoke College.]]>