MILLBURY, Mass. - At Millbury’s annual Town Meeting, voters approved a temporary ban on permitting for new multi-family developments as Massachusetts communities grapple how to handle a worsening housing crisis.

Roughly 80% of Millbury voters opted to press pause on large-scale housing projects for 18 months, following through on an effort that began as a citizen’s petition. Town Manager Sean Hendricks believes those voters don’t necessarily have negative views on affordable housing, rather they’re concerned about doing too much too soon without the proper planning to back it up.

“The impetus behind this particular moratorium was just sort of make sure that before we do a lot more multi-family development in town, we get clearer, more substantive rules in place regarding multi-family housing," Hendricks said.

Millbury’s current zoning bylaws don’t address multi-family housing in any substantive way, but town officials had started to update them before the moratorium vote.

For some residents, concerns trace back to projects like the proposed Rice Pond Village at 17 Rice Street. In the small residential neighborhood, some neighbors believe its nearly 200 proposed apartments would put a strain on town resources and turn the mellow slice of Millbury into a traffic headache.

“There’s constant discussion about how do we balance between being the Millbury these folks grew up in, understanding the fact that population has exploded over the last 30, 40, 50 years," Hendricks said. "How do we retain our character without losing the folks who made Millbury what it is?”

The moratorium makes references to the rate and volume at which new multifamily projects have been getting permits compared to other points in the town's history. Given the demand for affordable housing across the state, it seems it's only a matter of time before every town grapples with this question of how much it can do to provide new housing opportunities.

“It is an important conversation, it is a big conversation, we’d like it to be a bigger conversation because I don’t think everyone understands or pays attention to how dire the situation is," Hendricks said. "It’s not going to get any better until we address it.”

Under the moratorium, large projects like Rice Pond Village still have a possible path to construction with a state appeal, but Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance Executive Director Leah Bradley believes it makes progress trickier.

“Moratoriums like this really exacerbate the issue because what we need is housing at all income levels," Bradley said. "When we talk about moratoriums, it slows down the process of us being able to house our recent graduates, seniors on fixed incomes.”

Before the moratorium takes effect, it will need to be reviewed by the state attorney general’s office to make sure it falls within state laws.