Aaron Gornstein is executive director of Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, based in Boston.
As the Massachusetts legislative session winds down, several initiatives that could shape future affordable-housing policies for years to come hang in the balance. Among the most important housing initiatives needing final legislative action are:
• Fiscal Year 2005 Budget for Housing: Following three years of harmful cuts, spending on affordable-housing programs from the state’s operating budget are likely to increase by $10 million – from $66 million to $76 million. Public-housing operating subsidies are scheduled to increase by nearly $5 million, returning them to 2001 levels. In addition, the Legislature has proposed appropriating $2 million to $4 million for a new homelessness-prevention program to help low-income families pay for first/last month’s rent, security deposits, moving expenses and other short-term expenses.
• State Housing Tax Credit: Both the House and Senate have voted to authorize $100 million to extend the state’s low-income housing tax program for an additional five years. Similar to the federal housing tax credit, this program has yielded some 1,600 apartments for low- and moderate-income households over the past four years.
• Chapter 40B Reform: In May, the House passed major legislation to reform Chapter 40B; the Senate is expected to consider the bill in the weeks ahead. Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association is working to strike or modify some amendments that went beyond the compromise of the governor’s Chapter 40B task force and the Housing and Urban Development Committee legislation. The most troubling provisions include counting mobile homes and certain types of assisted-living units toward a community’s 10 percent affordable-housing threshold, and moving all Chapter 40B responsibilities from a community’s zoning board of appeals to its planning board.
• Smart-Growth Zoning: The Senate plan to create new smart-growth zoning districts will be debated in the state budget conference committee. This “local option” provides financial payments to towns in exchange for adopting overlay districts that permit housing development at increased densities. Once projects receive a building permit, towns would receive additional payments of $3,000 per housing unit. The Senate plan also includes funding for school costs to ensure that towns do not lose money on family housing. While many details will be debated in conference committee, one of the sticking points will be how these new long-term financial obligations will be funded.
• Housing Bond Bill: The Senate passed a $170 million housing bond bill (S. 734) that would reauthorize funding for several programs that provide community-based housing for persons with disabilities, elders and other special-needs populations. The Facilities Consolidation Fund, Housing Innovations Fund and Home Modifications Program will end soon if the House does not act.
The governor and the Legislature have moved forward on many important housing initiatives this year and have restored cuts to some key programs. Now it is time to move them to the finish line. Their final decisions over the next two months will determine whether Massachusetts residents – especially the state’s lower-income households – will receive some relief from the housing crisis.
