MONTAGUE — Residents and Selectboard members present at the board’s Monday meeting were reluctant to endorse a design that would reduce a planned six units of housing on First Street to five when the option was presented by Habitat for Humanity, citing the maximization of new housing as a priority.

Megan McDonough, executive director for Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity, which is facilitating the development of affordable housing on First Street, said this alternative design option was formulated after a public input session on Sept. 30. At this session, she said, residents from the neighboring Second Street expressed concerns about vehicle accessibility and parking.

A five-unit model would enable wider driveways and turnarounds, allow for six extra parking spaces and feature two single-story accessible homes, rather than the one accessible home that was proposed in the original plan.

The targeted land on First Street is municipally owned and one of two parcels within the area’s “Subdistrict B,” with the other under private ownership. The 0.65-acre lot, along with the former Railroad Salvage site at 11 and 15 Power St., was zoned as a “Smart Growth Overlay District” during last year’s Annual Town Meeting to encourage affordable housing. Such zoning changes encourage the development of residential or mixed-use buildings, of which at least 20% would need to be considered “affordable.”

According to a proposal presented to and endorsed by the Montague Planning Board in February, Habitat for Humanity’s original plan involves building “six all-electric, energy-efficient, detached single-family homes that would be sold to first-time home buyers with low incomes.” Five of the residences would have two stories, while one would be one story and more accessible to those with disabilities. The project will be funded by MassHousing’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

McDonough said the revised option with five residences may help ensure better quality of life for the families who move into the housing, aside from just being more favorable to neighbors looking to preserve parking. In addition to presenting an additional accessible housing opportunity for aging residents or residents with disabilities, a layout that has less of an impact on parking access may reduce tension between residents of First and Second streets, McDonough reasoned, expressing that it is important to make sure the neighbors’ feelings are heeded.

“The Second Street neighbors are going to be the closest neighbors to these future homeowners, and we don’t want it to be a point of contention that is none of their faults,” she explained. “We want these new homeowners to be welcomed into the neighborhood, and so we want to do everything we can to make that possible.”

Residents present at Monday’s meeting disapproved of the revised plan, referencing the current housing crisis.

“I know from things that I’ve been reading that we are approaching a very serious deficit in new construction for family and other housing in this county,” Edite Cunha said. “The idea of changing this plan in the interest of parking lots just feels very insulting to a family who is housing insecure.”

“This is town land being preserved and developed for a very laudable purpose, and I hope that purpose is paramount,” John Hanold commented.

Selectboard members unanimously agreed with attending residents. Chair Rich Kuklewicz argued that “having more families in town is really valuable,” noting that there are other locations in town that could feasibly be considered for future accessible housing development.

“Although I very much appreciate Megan’s comments regarding the need for accessible housing as well as affordable housing, I’m hoping that the town may be able to address that through developments in some of the other parcels … and we will be able to meet that need in another way,” Selectboard member Matt Lord commented.

Discussions between town departments and residents are expected to continue. Construction is hopeful for next spring, contingent on Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity receiving a completed environmental assessment report, completing the permitting process and advertising prospective homeowner selection the preceding winter.

The construction process will span two phases, each involving the construction of three residences over the course of 12 to 18 months. One phase would begin in spring 2024, while the next would begin in spring 2025.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.