Melrose Housing Plan Available for Community Feedback

The City of Melrose has released the draft of its Housing Production Plan (HPP) that embodies the community’s vision for the future of Melrose housing plans and communicates how the City will address housing needs over the next five years. Residents are invited to submit public comments on the plan before it is finalized and presented to the City Council and Planning Board for approval.

Residents can click here to access the webpage that hosts the Housing Production Plan draft and offers residents way to provide public comments. The link will remain active and accept comments until January 24. 

 “We are grateful to our community members who have contributed to a robust engagement process so far,” said Denise Gaffey, Director of the City’s Office of Planning and Community Department (OPCD). “This planning process has enabled the City to host public conversations about housing and the role it plays in the Melrose community. While the HPP plan, in its current form, already includes the community’s feedback, this is yet another opportunity for the community to share their unique and important perspectives on how we can address housing needs in Melrose.”

The goal of the HPP is to provide a detailed review of housing needs, constraints and opportunities in Melrose, and identify specific strategies that the City can pursue over the next five years in an effort to increase the supply of housing and address housing challenges in an equitable manner. Melrose partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to conduct the process and produce the plan, and held extensive public engagement that included community-wide surveys, focus groups, webinars and targeted interviews as part of the City’s feedback gathering process.

The City of Melrose Office of Planning and Community Development is leading the HPP process with MAPC and the support of an Advisory Committee that has met regularly over the past 15 months and has contributed vital insights into this effort. 

The ultimate product of this process is a plan that meets the requirements of a Housing Production Plan, as defined by Massachusetts General Laws under Chapter 40B. The finished plan will be submitted to the City Council and the Planning Board for adoption. If they adopt the plan, the HPP will be submitted for approval by the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development. The planning process is funded by MAPC’s District Local Technical Assistance Program and by a state Community Compact Grant awarded to the City of Melrose.