Tewksbury To Host Virtual Workshop About Housing Production Plan

TEWKSBURY, MA — The Town of Tewksbury is inviting the public to take part in a virtual workshop about the 2023-2027 Housing Production Plan later this month.

From 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on March 16, the Tewksbury Housing Production-Goals and Strategies Workshop will take place via Microsoft Teams. Residents can sign up online for the virtual workshop.

The meeting is expected to include a discussion about the recent housing survey, the housing production plan process and about how the town can work toward better, more affordable housing.

The workshop will feature town staff and members of the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments (NMCOG) housing planning team, which is working with town officials on updating the Housing Production Plan.

When complete, the Housing Production Plan will help guide Tewksbury's decisions on how to support affordable housing, what kind of housing development or redevelopment the town hopes to create, and how the town and its partners can work toward ensuring that people can afford a home that meets their needs, according to officials.

The plan, Tewksbury officials said, is designed to complement and build upon the Tewksbury Master Plan 2016, and will serve as a framework for considering permit projects, zoning changes, Community Preservation Act (CPA) fund expenditures and other actions that Tewksbury and its partners can undertake to increase the supply of affordable housing.

The housing plan project is supported by a NMCOG District Local Technical Assistance grant funded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).

In December and early January, a six-question survey, created by the town officials and NMCOG, asked residents questions about housing issues in Tewksbury and what housing initiatives should be prioritized in the coming years.

That survey came on the heels of the first Affordable Housing Workshop in November, where the NMCOG housing planning team presented important town housing data, findings and trends. Tewksbury officials said about eight to 10 residents attended that workshop.

Any questions about the virtual workshop or the Housing Production Plan can be directed to Alexandra Lowder, Tewksbury's community/economic development planner, at alowder@tewsbury-ma.gov.