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Barre City discusses dense, mixed-income housing for North End while weighing FEMA restrictions
Summary
Officials and residents debated housing options ranging from 50–65 unit apartment buildings to single-family infill; city leaders said many grants require an affordable component (often about 30%) and that Washington County AMI (~$80,000) shapes affordability rules.
Participants discussed whether the North End should prioritize green space or denser housing to restore population and the city’s grand list. Mayor Lozano and councilors described an approach that blends market-rate and subsidized units; "it's usually 30% of the apartments need to be affordable," the mayor said when describing grant conditions.
A meeting participant with affordable-housing experience (speaker 11) described the role of area median income (AMI) in subsidy programs and said Washington County AMI is roughly $80,000 per household. He noted that without subsidies a market-rate 50-unit building could be unaffordable for many residents, and that layered financing or shared-equity approaches are often needed to create truly affordable units. Residents and councilors also discussed parking strategies (stacked or under-building parking) and the need for childcare and grocery services in the North End to support new residents.
Councilors emphasized that any assembled parcels that are FEMA buyouts cannot be built on in perpetuity, so the city will target different sites for housing that do not carry buyout restrictions. The city plans to issue RFPs for development on acquired sites and said it will strive for a mix of subsidized and market-rate housing to maintain neighborhood character while increasing occupancy.
