A drone photograph of Easthampton. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO Credit: GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Easthampton addresses housing crisis with new task force, rental rules
Source: Daily Hampshire Gazette | By Sam Ferland | March 23, 2026
EASTHAMPTON — Two measures aimed at tackling housing affordability and development — creating a Housing Crisis Task Force and amending regulations for short-term rentals — have won City Council approval.
The resolution establishing the housing task force, put forward by City Councilor Kiam Jamrog-McQuaid, passed unanimously. It doubles as a request to formally recognize the housing crisis, aiming to bolster the city’s cohesion among everyone involved in housing.
“I felt like we have been doing a lot of great things in the city — I wanted to name those successes,” Jamrog-McQuaid said about the resolution. “I also wanted to name the housing affordability crisis, as a crisis.”
The short-term rental ordinance amendment, meanwhile, consumed the majority of time for councilors at its March 18 meeting, with several members of the public giving input during a public hearing on the matter.
Housing Crisis Task Force
The task force resolution, sent to the council after unanimous approval by its Rules & Government Relations subcommittee, states that “The housing crisis is a central issue facing residents and families in Easthampton, throughout the Commonwealth, and across the nation.”
It also notes that more than 40% of Easthampton renter households were housing-cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than a third of their income on housing, according to U.S. Census data from 2023.
Jamrog-McQuaid said the goal of the resolution is to create a “whole-of-government” approach to addressing the housing crisis, establishing better lines of communication in the city. With approval from Mayor Salem Derby, the task force would consist of various stakeholders and meet annually.
It would include the city council president, Easthampton’s state representative and senator; the chairs of the Housing Partnership, Rent Study Committee, Planning Board and Housing Authority; a representative from the Easthampton Tenants Union, the planning director and the public health director.
A public email would be created for the task force with messages directed to each member, allowing open contact from the public to send any housing news.
“A big piece of this was also to encourage a whole-of-government approach to addressing the housing crisis through cross-departmental and intergovernmental communication and collaboration,” Jamrog-McQuaid said.
In an interview with the Gazette, Jamrog-McQuaid said the city has multiple groups involved in housing such as the Rent Study Committee, Housing Partnership and Housing Authority.
The Rent Study Committee is currently exploring ways to implement rent stabilization that would address the needs of everyone — renters, landlords and developers — in the city. The Housing Partnership tries to support effective housing production and the Housing Authority helps regulate housing policy in the city.
Jamrog-McQuaid hopes the task force will help ensure the groups are not overlapping work, making tasks more efficient and collaborative with each other and the public.
The resolution recognizes that several tenants in the city have contacted the council and that the increase of impacted tenants has led to the creation of the Easthampton Tenants Union.
