HADLEY — As a town committee examines the possibility of creating a new zoning district that would bring a mix of housing options and possible adaptive reuse of commercial properties, its members are pushing back on recent responses to townwide surveys contending that such developments might be for sheltering undocumented immigrants, or become off-campus dormitories.

“There were a number of written responses that I saw, there’s clearly a group of people that feel our intent is to bring illegal aliens into Hadley, and that this is what this is really meant to be,” Mark Dunn, who chairs the Smart Growth Steering Committee, said at a meeting last week.

But the purpose of the committee, which is working with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to develop a possible zoning amendment for next spring’s Town Meeting, is to broaden the range of housing. Under the so-called Chapter 40R district, 20% of the housing must be provided for 80% of the area median income, which for Hadley means $70,100 in earnings for a two-person household and $87,600 for a four-person household, with rents of $1,753 and $2,190, respectively.

“When I think of affordable housing, I’m thinking of the single mom working two to three jobs, and still can’t get all the things she needs,” Dunn said, adding that if more low-cost housing is available, that mother could be more present for her children.

There were 320 responses to the survey, of which 308 came from Hadley residents.

For committee member Justin Pelland, some of the survey responses were likely misguided, while others felt malicious. He said the responses are not dissimilar from disparaging comments made by former president Donald Trump about the Haitian population in Springfield, Ohio, during the recent debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Rhetoric like we’ve seen in some of these comments puts some of those people at risk and danger, as we’ve seen at the recent presidential debate, and the violence that has come out of those comments and rhetoric,” Pelland said.

In response to whether Hampshire Mall might be suitable for housing, one person wrote, “Any new housing should be focused on young married U.S. citizens and seniors. We do not need, nor should we be wanting, to cater to low-income, subsidized illegal housing, no matter how much the state pays to house each person.”

Another question on the survey was what green amenities are needed on Route 9. “Whatever the illegals don’t like is what I’m for. No hang outs, no places to loiter and bother people,” one respondent wrote.

Another respondent suggested there be no transit or other efforts to accommodate people who “will screw over the schools with a flood of students that don’t speak English and lower everyone’s standard of living” and another stated, “we all know that this entire thing is a guise for low-income migrant and illegal housing.”

“Look, if people are so dedicated to low income housing and illegals, just take a family into your own homes. Why destroy your own town with grandiose dreams of a liberal utopia that hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been tried,” reads another comment.

Pelland said the disparaging comments appear to come from six respondents.

With Hadley home to several Haitian families living at a former hotel along Route 9, Dunn said these people have been welcomed into the community and the schools.

Dunn said the survey responses, though, are reminiscent of criticisms of the EconoLodge project, where Valley Community Development will be providing affordable apartments, and the initial concept of housing at Hampshire Mall, with a town official posting on social media that it might bring “crime and crap.”

Pelland said he wants to condemn and confront the misinformation, noting the committee is not dealing with immigration policy. “I think this problem goes much much further than who specifically gets served by housing,” Pelland said.

At the same time, the committee wants people to be heard and comments will be taken seriously, like worries about public schools’ population growth and how to limit the impact from college students.

Among the other comments to the survey: “Any apartment-like units will be gobbled up by students,” “how would we ensure it goes to Hadley residents and not college students,” “any multiple buildings units town houses, etc., would be used for housing for students” and “stop student rentals from swallowing up whole parts of town.”

Some of the comments also referenced Hadley having too many cliques and having meetings that feel like a Hopkins Academy reunion.

“The tone of Hadley is one of exclusion, secrecy, and grade school relationships dominating…. Hadley talks the talk of inclusion, but they don’t walk the walk.”

Another noted how the town is unaffordable for those born and raised in town: “I want to see Hadley move away from the ‘don’t let outsiders in’ mentality to create an opportunity for diverse families to become a part of this community. So much effort is spent keeping people out that we aren’t considering how our community could thrive if we created ways to bring more people in without compromising on our historic and agricultural heritage.”