Debate continues in Williamstown, Mass. about the feasibility of retaining a 224 homesite manufactured housing community that sits in a 100-year flood plain for affordable housing. The Board of Selectmen of Williamstown, Mass. has voted to ask the Conservation Commission to remove the site from conservation restrictions, and then inquire of developers the feasibility of building affordable housing on the site. Advocates of the Affordable Housing Committee are pushing for more information on the project, with the hopes of it being developed, while most of the town residents who spoke at the meeting do not want the proposal to go forward. A discussion with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, which has jurisdiction over development in a flood plain, has been set for July 15. Meanwhile, remaining residents of the Spruces Mobile Home Park are in the middle, not knowing when Williamstown may take possession of the community from current owner Morgan Management. By state law, as iberkshires informs MHProNews, residents must be given two years’ notice of when the community will close.
