There’s No Place Like Home

by Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall

Maynard, MA - Housing prices and affordability are a big issues in Massachusetts and Maynard is no exception.  Although various government entities have put in years of effort, and made some significant progress, the problem has largely persisted.
Although it may seem that there is little residents can do to alleviate this, at least Maynard town government officials and volunteers have been making a concerted effort.

Recently, the town announced a public forum, hosted by the town’s Housing Production Plan Advisory Group.  The idea is to provide a way for residents of the town to learn about the details involved and weigh in on the issue.  The town updates their Housing Production Plan every five years; the last one was completed in 2021.
The group has scheduled a public forum for discussion next Wednesday, July 29th at 6:30 PM.  The forum is accessible virtually, via Zoom.  To log in, you must register in advance.  Here is the link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-forum-maynards-housing-production-plan-update-tickets-1992945633037?aff=oddtdtcreator

The town’s web site also has a page to provide more details: https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/544

Maynard’s other news source, The Maynard Voice, has a story with a detailed background about the effort overall, contributed by Natalie Robert, a member of the Maynard Planning Board.  Here is the link: https://maynardvoice.com/maynard-is-updating-its-housing-production-plan-heres-what-it-means/
Although the article is long, I strongly recommend that everyone planning to join in on the 29th read it all the way through in order to be better prepared.  There is a poster, in PDF form, which you can download here:

maynard_hpp_flyer_2026_final.pdf
File Size:	540 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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Commentary

Community Planning is a challenge for any town, but especially for us here in Eastern Massachusetts. Most of the towns where we live were not planned out at all, people just started farms, sometimes divided up and sold parcels, then later built housing and businesses without realizing what the future would hold.

Background

Maynard has an area of only 5.4 square miles.  During World War II, over one square mile of that was seized by the US military by eminent domain (from the families who farmed that land) to use as an ammunition storage and distribution facility.  When the war was over, the site was used for various other purposes, which left the ground heavily contaminated with toxic elements and compounds..  That area is what has become the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. (See more details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assabet_River_National_Wildlife_Refuge

When you subtract the area for the river, the mill pond, the mill itself and the associated parking areas, we have somewhere around 3 square miles for everything else, most of which has already been built on, is wetlands, or is dedicated to parks or wooded areas.

Of course, this is just the limits of available land.  Perhaps the most critical factor is the supply of fresh water.  For years, Maynard has had to carefully limit new residential development because of the risk of overdrawing water from our resources. On average someone at work uses about 10 gallons of water per day (making coffee and using the bathroom), whereas someone at home typically uses over 100 gallons per day.  The difference is due to the many more ways we use water at home, when compared with what we use at work., such as laundry, dishes, cooking, and bathing.

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The Challenge

On the one hand, community planning is a very complex process.  There are so many factors to consider, such as terrain, water resources, roads and transportation,, energy and communication infrastructure (electricity, gas, phone, cable TV, and internet lines), as well as neighborhood character. On the other hand, public participation is essential.  It makes no sense to develop plans without the community being aware of and having a say in how things proceed.  As town government is responsible for some infrastructure (roads, fresh water, waste water, storm water runoff, etc.), it does not actually build buildings, or run other utility lines; those are all built and maintained by private developers and contractors.
Thus, planning involves a give and take between the residents and local businesses, government, and these private interests in an attempt to reach a satisfactory result. 
Community Planning  is often a forgotten and neglected aspect of town and regional government.  Do it really well, and no one notices.  But make a mistake, then everyone notices and they often get very unhappy about it!  Often, problems aren’t evident until the roads are paved, the buildings built, and people start living or working there.
So, I sympathize that it can seem like a heavy lift for average citizens to consider all these factors when preparing for a public forum like this.  It takes time and patience that not everyone can afford to devote. I happen to have a long history of involvement in town government, having served on various committees and as an elected Town Meeting member when I lived in Arlington (where I resided for 44 years).  So, I’m pretty used to lengthy meetings with plenty of factors being discussed.  And I’m prepared to cut the planners some slack if things don’t go perfectly well.  It’s a tough job!

With all that said, I encourage you to do what you can to participate in the public forums available, when they are scheduled.  I know it’s the middle of the summer, and many people want to get out for some recreation or go on a vacation, but if you’re around and have the time, please see what you can do. Because of a commitment to a prior scheduled family event, I will not be able to log into the forum itself this time, but I visit the Maynard planning department periodically, and I’ll be sure to review the notes taken by others when I return.

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