Boston Mayor Marty Walsh

Boston is planning to ask state legislators for freedom to increase the per-square-foot affordable housing and job training fees the city charges developers when they want, according to a statement from Mayor Marty Walsh’s office.

Developers currently pay two fees into special funds for each square foot in excess of 100,000 square feet: $8.34 per square foot for the city’s affordable housing fund and $1.67 per square foot for job training. Walsh’s statement does not name specific fee changes, but seeks “greater flexibility has proven necessary to share the benefits of current economic growth with more residents,” given “the cyclical nature of building booms.” Currently the city is only allowed to make adjustments every three years based on inflation.

The proposal is part of a 14-bill package of home rule petitions and other legislation focused on economic development and affordable housing which the mayor is submitting to lawmakers today.

“Boston and the commonwealth succeed when everyone has a chance to move forward,” Walsh said in a statement. “Housing and economic mobility are linked: a stable home allows residents to pursue opportunities. In Boston, we’ve increased our affordable housing goals and worked to ensure everyone has a home in our city. We are doubling down on economic mobility by supporting small businesses, many of them owned by women, immigrants and people of color, reforming parts of the system that create barriers that keep people in poverty, and providing new pathways to good jobs.”

Walsh’s package of proposals also includes a proposal to expand liquor licenses in the city’s neighborhoods, plus several other housing proposals:

• Tweaks to the city’s inclusionary development policy, requiring all projects of 10 or more units, regardless of the need for zoning relief, to abide by the policy. Under the current program, developers may include affordable units within their developments (on site), create affordable housing in an off-site location or make a cash contribution towards the creation or preservation of affordable housing.
• A measure to provide certain low-income tenants facing eviction with a court-appointed attorney.
• A bill to prohibit no-fault eviction of tenants over 75 years old and limit rent increases on these tenants to 5 percent per year in all properties with six or more rental units. Landlords would be required to provide notice to the local community at the same time the eviction notice is served to the elderly tenant. Eviction would only be permitted for good cause such as failure to pay rent, damage to the property, or use of the premises for illegal activities.
• A measure to give tenant associations in rental properties with five or more units the right of first refusal to collectively purchase the properties at fair market value.