Canton Affordable Housing Trust

The purpose of the Trust is to provide for the preservation and creation of affordable and community housing in the Town of Canton for the benefit of low- and moderate-income households and for the funding of community housing, as defined in and in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 44B. 

Meetings:

• the third Thursday of every month
• Town Hall - Salah Meeting Room, 801 Washington Street Canton, MA 02021

Schedule

The Canton Affordable Housing Trust meets as necessary to conduct their regular business and will generally meet at least 10 times per year. Meeting dates and times will be posted on the home page and Town Meetings Calendar. 

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas are available prior to meetings. Minutes are available following approval.

View Agendas.  View Minutes.

Members

• Chair, Michael Loughran, Select Board Member
• Vice Chair, Taylor Torres, Town Planner
• Treasurer, William (Randy) Scollins, Town Finance Director
• Clerk, Charles Doody, Town Administrator 
• Member, John McSweeney, Chair, Canton Housing Authority
• Member, Melissa Mayer, Community Preservation Committee
•  Member, David McCarthy, Citizen At Large and Planning Board Member
• Staff, Kevin Shea, Housing Coordinator

All members are appointed by the Select Board for terms not to exceed two years, except that the initial three members for a term of one year, so as to allow staggered terms.

About the Affordable Housing Trust

Housing trust funds were first developed in the 1970s and became more common in the 1980s and 1990s.  In Massachusetts, it was after the passage of the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT) statute, M.G.L. Chapter 44, Section 55c, in 2005 that cities and towns began to more actively create housing trust funds. As of 2019, over 110 communities in the state have a local affordable housing trust fund (and almost 80% of those communities also have adopted the Community Preservation Act). 

Many Canton residents are paying too much for housing. Deed restricted affordable housing preserves local development controls, and long-term it is at risk. The Canton Housing Trust provides a mechanism to protect against expiring restrictions.  A municipal affordable housing trust was created at the annual town meeting in 2021 (Article 32). Its two main goals are to preserve Canton's current inventory of deed-restricted affordable housing and preserve our overall percentage of affordable units as the community grows through managed development. 

For more information on Canton's  municipal housing trust, click here.

For more information on municipal housing trusts generally, click here.

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