West Stockbridge Select Board moves to put affordable housing trust on town meeting warrant

WEST STOCKBRIDGE -- March 6, 2023, West Stockbridge Select Board advances affordable housing trust for the annual town meeting warrant. At the March 6 meeting, board member Andrew Krouss outlined a proposal to establish a trust under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44, Section 55C, joining roughly 109 communities statewide with similar bodies; Town Administrator Marie Ryan said the article is already drafted and will go before the board for final approval at the March 23 meeting. The trust would allow the town to pool Community Preservation Act funds, ARPA housing allocations, and surplus municipal land under a single legal entity governed by four resident trustees, one Select Board member, and the Town Administrator as a non-voting ex officio. Planning Board Chair Dana gave a separate update noting that short-term rental, accessory dwelling unit, and floodplain overlay zoning changes are unlikely to reach this year's town meeting due to competing workloads, and estimated roughly $6,000 in unspent master plan grant funds may remain for a consultant to help complete the long-stalled document.