Ashburnham EO 418 Final
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ASHBURNHAM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2004 Housing Open Space & Resource Protection Economic Development Transportation Submitted to: Town of Ashburnham Prepared by: Montachusett Regional Planning Commission Submission Date: June 2004 Executive Order 418 Ashburnham Community Development Plan June 30, 2004 This program has been funded through a Community Development Plan grant authorized by former Governor Paul Cellucci, through Executive Order 418 signed in January 2000. Funding in the amount of $30,000 has been made available to the community from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, Execu- tive Office of Environmental Affairs and Executive Office of Transportation and Construction. Technical assistance has been made available from the Massachusetts Department of Economic Development. MONTACHUSETT REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION R1427 WATER STREET, FITCHBURG, MA 01420 (978) 345-7376, Fax (978) 345-9867 e-mail [email protected] COMMISSION STAFF David Jarvenpaa, Chairman, Westminster Vyto Andreliunas, Vice Chairman, Royalston Mary Olivier, Secretary, Leominster Victor Koivumaki, Treasurer, Lancaster Robert Grubb, Assistant Treasurer, Gardner MRPC STAFF *Laila Michaud, Assistant Executive Director *Jason Stanton, GIS Regional Planner *Brad Harris, Transportation Project Director Nathalie Orhlac, GIS Regional Planner George Kahale, Transit Project Director *Linda Parmenter, Office Manager *George Snow, Transportation Planner Yvonne Perreault, Administrative Assistant *Glenn Eaton, Economic Development Director Ann Carabba, Administrative Assistant *Amanda Amory, Principal Planner Anita Cormier, Administrative Secretary *Robert Biagi, Principal Planner Nancy Belliveau, Fiscal Manager Shelly Hatch, Principal Planner Bobbi Jo Johnson, Fiscal Assistant Sherilyn Dufour, Regional Planner I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... I-1 A. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE ...................................................................................................................... I-1 B. PLANNING PROCESS AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION........................................................................ I-2 1. Visioning Forum ...................................................................................................................................... I-2 2. Interlocal Cooperation ............................................................................................................................ I-2 C. ASSETS AND LIABILITIES INVENTORY .............................................................................................. I-3 1. Assets ....................................................................................................................................................... I-3 2. Liabilities ................................................................................................................................................. I-3 3. Needs ....................................................................................................................................................... I-4 D. VISION STATEMENT ................................................................................................................................ I-5 II. DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE ....................................................................................................................... II-1 A. Population Characteristics ........................................................................................................................... II-1 B. Age Distribution .......................................................................................................................................... II-1 C. Working Age Population ............................................................................................................................. II-1 D. Gender ......................................................................................................................................................... II-2 E. Race ............................................................................................................................................................. II-3 F. Median Household Income ......................................................................................................................... II-4 G. Median Family Income ............................................................................................................................... II-5 H. Per Capita Income ....................................................................................................................................... II-6 I. Poverty ........................................................................................................................................................ II-7 J. Educational Attainment ............................................................................................................................... II-8 K. Employment by SIC .................................................................................................................................... II-9 L. Unemployment Rates – Annualized .......................................................................................................... II-11 M. Buildout Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... II-11 III. HOUSING ELEMENT ........................................................................................................................... III-1 A. Affordable Housing: the Big Picture ........................................................................................................ III-1 1. Labor force and Housing ...................................................................................................................... III-2 2. Ashburnham’s Housing Situation ......................................................................................................... III-2 3. Montachusett Regional Housing Needs Assessment ............................................................................. III-4 B. Housing Assessment and Analysis ............................................................................................................ III-6 1. Population Trends ................................................................................................................................ III-6 a) Median Age Distribution ................................................................................................................. III-7 b) Age of Residents .............................................................................................................................. III-7 c) Age Groups ...................................................................................................................................... III-8 2. Housing Unit Growth ........................................................................................................................... III-8 a) Number of Dwelling Units .............................................................................................................. III-8 b) Building Permits .............................................................................................................................. III-9 3. Average Household Size ..................................................................................................................... III-10 a) Persons/Unit ................................................................................................................................... III-10 4. Number and Type of Housing Units ................................................................................................... III-11 5. Age of Housing Stock .......................................................................................................................... III-12 6. Mortgage Status and Selected Monthly Owner Costs ......................................................................... III-13 a) Selected Monthly Owner Costs as a Percentage of Household Income in 1999 ............................ III-13 b) Selected Monthly Rental Costs: Gross Rents................................................................................ III-14 7. Housing Occupancy ............................................................................................................................ III-15 8. Type of Households ............................................................................................................................ III-16 9. Housing Demand Assessment & Needs Analysis ................................................................................ III-16 a) Rental Unit Need ........................................................................................................................... III-17 b) Homeownership ............................................................................................................................. III-17 10. Supply of Subsidized Housing ........................................................................................................ III-18 C. Housing Visions, Goals, and Objectives ................................................................................................. III-20 1. The Visioning Process .......................................................................................................................