CLARK L. ZIEGLER
Prices ‘staggering’
When most town officials think about affordable housing in their communities, Chapter 40B immediately springs to mind.
Chapter 40B, the state’s so-called anti-snob zoning law, allows developers to practically bypass local zoning in communities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is affordable if the developer’s proposal includes housing for low- to moderate-income individuals. Many housing advocates consider Chapter 40B the key vehicle in affordable housing production.
But when more than 200 housing officials and town leaders gathered last week to discuss ways to produce more affordable housing, there was a concerted effort to talk about other strategies besides Chapter 40B that could lead to the development of more housing. Many leaders of communities that don’t meet the 10 percent standard have complained that developers have been abusing Chapter 40B to force large and inappropriate housing developments in their towns without considering how the new housing will impact town services.
At a conference entitled “Have It Your Way,” speakers representing cities and towns as diverse as Westford, Amherst and Bedford discussed strategies and successful tools that have been used to initiate the development of affordable housing – before Chapter 40B proposals even pop up. The conference, organized by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership Fund, the quasi-public agency that provides loans for affordable housing, took place last Thursday at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough.
Several speakers talked about how important it is to build the “political will” to spur more affordable housing production and also about eliminating the negative impressions that people typically have about housing for low- and moderate-income people. One speaker half-jokingly suggested that the only time town officials think about affordable housing is when a developer seeks a comprehensive permit under the state’s Chapter 40B law to build a housing project.
“What motivates us is when a developer shows up and says, ‘Here, I have an application for a comprehensive permit,'” said Buzz Stapczynski, Andover’s town manager, who was one of the conference speakers.
In Andover, where the average house lot sells for $300,000 and the average price of an existing home is $450,000, five comprehensive permit applications were filed within the last two years. Town officials formed a housing partnership committee to deal with affordable housing issues, and now developers go before the committee to negotiate before ever seeking a permit from any of the town boards, said Stapczynksi.
In addition, the town’s housing authority formed a nonprofit group and residents formed the Andover Community Trust, all in an effort to “stimulate” more affordable housing production.
Gaining Attention
In Framingham and the surrounding communities, the MetroWest Affordable Housing Coalition was formed to create a “better political climate” for affordable housing, said the Rev. Peter Cook, a pastor in Framingham and co-chairman of the coalition. The coalition hosted several successful conferences that were aimed at educating residents and town officials in the eight MetroWest communities about the benefits of having housing that is affordable.
Last week’s conference also featured a slideshow presentation that highlighted what communities like Acton, Lincoln, Barnstable, Worcester and Newton, have done to get more affordable housing, including using vacant land and buildings, and creating alliances within the community.
The MHP conference comes at a time when many state leaders are talking about housing in the same vein as education and healthcare. Housing production has been a priority with the administrations of former Gov. Paul Cellucci and current Gov. Jane Swift. The issue has gained more prominent attention as recent reports have shown that building restrictions and caps passed by many communities are exacerbating the housing supply problem and leading to higher home prices.
Still, on the local level, communities are struggling with how to handle growth and new housing construction, often complaining about the impact more housing will have on their schools, environment and infrastructure. Compounding the problem is that in many towns in Eastern Massachusetts, only high-priced housing is being built.
In her welcoming remarks at the MHP conference, Jane Wallis Gumble, director of the state Department of Housing and Community Development, alluded to the expensive “CEO” housing that is springing up.
“I don’t believe we can build houses without three-car garages anymore,” said Gumble. “The market won’t support it.”
While people’s incomes have risen in the Bay State, they have not risen at all income levels fast enough to keep up with the escalating home prices, according to Clark L. Ziegler, executive director of MHP.
Ziegler said he was surprised to read a recent newspaper article that called the affordable housing crisis in Eastern Massachusetts a “myth.”
Citing statistics from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ziegler said that the Greater Boston rental market ranked in the top four most expensive markets in the country. Since 1980, home prices have increased 70 percent nationally, but 310 percent in Massachusetts, he said. With such high home prices, particularly in Eastern Massachusetts, homeownership is impossible for young college graduates, according to housing experts.
“It’s just staggering,” said Ziegler.
