Politics
Williamstown City Council Approves Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, Setting 15 Percent Affordable Unit Requirement
The July 7 vote brings Williamstown's rules into line with four other towns in the county that already require a share of new housing to be priced below market rates.
How we reported this
Williamstown City Council voted 5-2 on July 7 to adopt the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, which requires any residential development of ten or more units to set aside 15 percent of those units for households earning no more than 80 percent of area median income.
The ordinance takes effect January 1, 2027, and applies inside the city limits along Route 2 and in the downtown core where most new multifamily projects have been proposed in the last three years.
Rules now match county peers
Four other municipalities in the county adopted similar 15-percent set-aside rules between 2022 and 2025. Williamstown's version adds a local option that lets developers pay a fee of $185,000 per required unit into a city housing trust instead of building the units on site.
City staff estimated the fee option could generate $2.4 million over five years if three projects use it, money that would be used to rehabilitate existing homes or support first-time buyer assistance programs run by the Williamstown Housing Authority.
Residents who work at the college or the hospital and currently commute from towns twenty minutes away will see the new units listed through the authority's lottery system, with priority given to people already living or working inside city limits.
Next steps for builders and buyers
Planning staff will hold two public workshops in September to explain how the fee calculation and unit pricing will be verified each year. Projects already in the permitting pipeline before January 1 will not be subject to the new requirement.
The council directed the city manager to submit an annual report each March showing how many units were created and how much trust-fund money was collected and spent.