Housing advocates who were anxiously waiting for a compromise on a $508 million bond bill to get stalled affordable housing projects moving are breathing a little easier.
A conference committee hammered out a compromise bill last week that if passed will provide $350 million to renovate public housing. The bill, which mainly reauthorizes funding for already-existing programs that had run out of money, would also provide grants to nonprofit groups and other organizations to build new housing.
“We’re very pleased with the final version of the bill,” said Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association. “It provides much-needed funding for affordable housing preservation in Massachusetts.”
CHAPA estimates that 10,000 private and public housing units will be renovated through the bond bill.
“It’s the largest bond bill in more than 15 years,” said Gornstein.
The House and Senate passed different versions of the bill last summer, with what were considered “minor” differences by housing advocates. A six-member committee, headed by Sen. Steven C. Panagiotakos, D-Lowell, and Rep. Patricia A. Walrath, D-Stow, was formed to come up with one bill.
The revised bill still needs to be passed by the House and Senate and signed by the governor – something that could happen by the end of this month.
The compromise comes after housing advocates pleaded with lawmakers to settle the bill quickly, arguing that affordable housing projects that were in the pipeline were in jeopardy. Last month, a diverse coalition of groups – including CHAPA, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations – sent a letter to the committee urging it to act fast.
Money had been committed or awarded to projects, but since the bill had not been agreed upon, community groups didn’t have access to the funding, said Andrea Lukuetta, MACDC’s director of housing.
Community development corporations were relying on the Housing Innovations Fund and Housing Stabilization Fund – both part of the bond bill – to pay for some projects. Some 36 projects totaling roughly 1,000 units were at stake, said Lukuetta.
“Now … we can get rolling on actual development of these units,” she said.
Lawmakers contend that state budget delays stalled the housing bond bill. But sources said the bill may have also been held up because some lawmakers tied passage of the bond bill to changes they wanted made to the state’s controversial anti-snob zoning law, or Chapter 40B.
In addition to the bond bill, the conference committee is also considering an omnibus housing bill that includes changes to Chapter 40B and provisions for rent escrow and expiring-use projects. The committee has yet to act on the omnibus housing bill.
Others assert that the delay was because lawmakers wanted to reduce the $508 million authorization to around $300 million.
Whatever the holdup, affordable housing groups are thrilled that the bill is moving along.
In addition to providing money to fix housing, the bill also includes money for new projects. For example, $10 million is included for the development of affordable housing in urban areas near transportation.
Gornstein said he is pleased with that addition, which essentially links affordable housing to smart growth initiatives.
Gornstein also pointed out that the bill features $3.5 million for the re-capitalization of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership Fund, which was originally only in the Senate bill.
CHAPA is also celebrating because the bond bill will include a provision that allows the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp., known as CEDAC, to assist nonprofit groups statewide. Before, only groups that were based in targeted low-income areas could receive CEDAC funding.
