Essex launches first Housing Production Plan with affordability data showing deep deficit

ESSEX — January 30, 2025 — Essex begins its first Housing Production Plan with affordability data showing most residents cannot afford to buy a home in town. The Essex Affordable Housing Trust held a public webinar January 30 at which Metropolitan Area Planning Council planners John Cruz and Emma Udlovich presented findings showing Essex's subsidized housing inventory stands at just 2.58 percent — far below the 10 percent state threshold — and that roughly 70 percent of households cannot afford a conventional mortgage on a home in Essex today, which requires an annual household income of approximately $200,000. Cruz, MAPC's senior housing and land use planner, told online participants that "no municipality in Massachusetts has ever been successful in getting their SHI numbers reduced," dismissing the possibility of a lower target for constrained communities. He said large apartment complexes are "a non-starter" for Essex given its wetlands, flood zones, and limited sewer infrastructure, and that MAPC's site recommendations will focus on small-scale multifamily near existing water and sewer lines. The plan is targeted for adoption at a joint Planning Board and Select Board meeting in December 2025.