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Planning board recommends Taunton housing production plan to City Council, urges funded build‑out study
Summary
At its May 1 meeting the Taunton Planning Board voted to forward the city's housing production plan to the City Council with a positive recommendation and asked the council to appropriate funding for a separate build‑out and infrastructure study addressing school impacts, facilities and a more detailed housing mix.
At its May 1 meeting the Taunton Planning Board voted to recommend the city's housing production plan to the City Council while asking the council to fund a follow‑up build‑out and facilities study.
The plan itself lays out steps the city could take to meet a state 40B benchmark (commonly framed as a 10% affordable housing threshold). Jay Patikas, Executive Director of the Office of Economic and Community Development, told the board, “I would ask the board to vote on it as it was submitted and approve it tonight so we can move it forward.”
Board members who spoke urged the Council to pair the production plan with a larger study of infrastructure and detailed housing needs. Bill, a planning board member, said the plan should be accompanied by a commitment to fund a study that would assess build‑out, school impacts and the mix of housing (veterans, seniors, missing‑middle, market vs. subsidized). “I'd like to see a commitment to fund and do that study,” he said. Several members also recommended a joint meeting with the City Council to coordinate next steps.
Planning staff and EOCD representatives said the housing production plan is intended as a concise, five‑year guideline to show what would be required to reach the 10% target, not as a full master plan or facilities study. Jim Howland, Assistant Director, OECD, told the board the plan is a "way forward" and that a broader infrastructure and facilities build‑out would require additional resources beyond the scope of this grant.
Action: The board approved a motion to forward a positive recommendation to the City Council, conditioned on the council's consideration of funding a separate, more comprehensive build‑out and facilities study. The board instructed staff to include a letter describing the study needs when the plan goes to the council.
The board's recommendation does not itself change zoning or authorize projects; it sends the housing production plan to the City Council for its review and any further action.
What to watch next: Whether the City Council accepts the planning board's recommendation and whether the council allocates funding for the more detailed build‑out and facilities study the board requested.
