The Center Town District is an effort to create a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use community core. It aims to create a central location for compact, residential-commercial development to take place in the town with a range of housing types and pricing options.

Diverse, attainable housing creates the possibility for senior residents to downsize their homes and still age-in-place, right here in town, or for young people to find a manageable housing option for when they return home from college or want to move out on their own.

Compact, mixed-use development is an important tool for communities that wish to harness economic and community development opportunities. It allows the Town to grow its tax base while also maintaining the residential character of existing neighborhoods and preserving valuable green and open spaces.

Over the next several months, members of the Steering Committee will work with town officials and members of the community to define where the Center Town District should be. Through a series of meetings, charettes, and other community engagements, the Steering Committee will create the boundaries.

Once the boundaries have been created, a draft bylaw will be presented to the Planning Board. The Planning Board will then use the recommendations from the Steering Committee to create their own proposed bylaw and boundary for the Center Town District. There will be a public meeting where members of the community will have an opportunity to review the proposed bylaw and boundary and ask questions.

Once approved by the Planning Board, they will take the proposed bylaw and boundary map to the Town Council for review. The Town Council will then create the final version of the bylaw and boundary map, based on the recommendation of the Steering Committee and Planning Board. The Town Council will hold a public meeting where members of the community will have the opportunity to further review and discuss the plan before the Town Council takes a final vote.

The boundaries have not been set. Through this process, the Center Town District will be formed. With the input from the community, committee members will set out to create the boundaries for the new Center Town District.

When community members think of “Center Town” they immediately think of The Rotary. This is not necessarily the space that will be the new Center Town District. The goal is to look in and around what we think of as the “Center” to envision a safe and inviting public space that can be utilized by residents for a multitude of purposes, creating a greater sense of community.

No. No decision has been made. We are presently in a community engagement process that will collect opinions and preferences from residents. These preferences will be translated into a map and bylaw that the Steering Committee will recommend to the Planning Board and Town Council.

The Town was awarded $45,000 through the FY24 Community One Stop for Growth Community Planning Grant to explore planning for a Center Town District. This grant covers the full expense of the professional technical assistance that is involved in the planning process (data collection and analysis, community meetings, technical reviews, and crafting draft bylaw language).

Please join us at one of our upcoming community events and meetings! For volunteer opportunities, please reach out to Steering Committee Chair, Carolyn Ferros, or Deputy Town Manager, Rebecca Lisi.

To be eligible to purchase an affordable housing unit, an individual family must have income below 80% of the Area Median Income. East Longmeadow is part of the Springfield, MA HUD Metro Area, where the FY24 estimated family median income is $97,000. A family of four earning $87,600, or an individual earning $61,350 would therefore qualify for affordable housing at the 80% threshold.

The State uses Chapter 40B to encourage the production of affordable housing in all cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth by requiring each community to meet a 10% affordable housing threshold. If the minimum threshold is not met, a housing developer that is denied local approval gains the right to appeal that decision to the State, thereby eliminating opportunities for local control. A successful appeal will bypass East Longmeadow’s local zoning bylaws and allow the developer to proceed at their own discretion.

The role of the Center Town District Steering Committee is to work with the community and town officials to recommend boundaries for a new Center Town District. Once those boundaries and a draft bylaw has been created both will be presented to the Planning Board.

The Center Town District Steering Committee is made up of members of the community. Each committee member was selected for their community involvement and eagerness to work together through the process of creating a Center Town District.