Photo courtesy of CHAPA
Eric Shupin
CEO, Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association
Age: 40
Industry experience: 13 years
After playing a key role authoring the 2024 Massachusetts’ Affordable Homes Act, Eric Shupin is returning to an advocacy role as CEO of Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association. Shupin left the Healey administration in May to lead the statewide nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1967 and seeks to both preserve affordable housing and drive new production. Shupin was deputy chief of staff for policy at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities as it was established as a cabinet-level position, reflecting the Healey administration’s emphasis on tackling Massachusetts’ housing affordability crisis. Shupin rejoined CHAPA on June 15, after working as its director of public policy prior to his state government role.
Q: Based upon recent history, which is more effective: top-down policy like the statewide ADU legislation, or locally-driven changes such as the MBTA Communities Act?
A: I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve had the opportunity to work on these housing policies from multiple perspectives, from the advocacy groups and coalition to CHAPA to state government, and the implementation side. What does it mean to take the policy from putting it in practice? Our best policies happen when there’s strong collaboration and working together with all parties involved: developers, residents, tenants and local officials.
Q: What are some of the major outcomes of the Affordable Homes Act playing out this year?
A: ADUs are unlocking more housing, and homeowners need help with design and financing and technical assistance. The commercial conversion tax credit is a good opportunity to create more homes. The Office of Fair Housing was created through the AHA. At a time when the federal government is cutting back, it’s exciting to see the AHA play out in real time.
Q: How do you interpret the long delay on additional zoning reform in the current legislative session?
A: I think that we’re going to see what happens as the session comes to an end [July 31]. I’m still hopeful and optimistic that we can maintain the momentum we have around housing. Our housing challenges developed over decades and require ongoing, sustained solutions. There is a focus that continues on how we can do more on housing production, preservation, rental assistance and programs that help first-time homebuyers if they are facing uncertainty. There are opportunities to build on the recent progress. It’s not going to go away. We know we have to keep taking action.
Q: Is the backlash against MBTA Communities as big a concern to legislators as some reports have made it out to be?
A: I wouldn’t be able to characterize how the Legislature might feel about what happened with MBTA Communities and any backlash. It’s been an ongoing process for implementation, but I think that the MBTA Communities law has been a success. The overwhelming majority of communities have taken action and done what they needed to comply. We see the results with thousands of homes in the pipeline in those districts that were created. There certainly were communities that pushed back, and we have an attorney general who is working to enforce the law, but that’s been the exception and not the rule. What we see is there can be great results when we push ourselves to ask what pieces we need to move forward on housing production. There are many ADUs being built now because of that law, because people want more housing.
Q: Which of the recommendations of the Unlocking Housing Production commission should state leaders be aggressive in pursuing?
A: I worked on the Unlocking Housing Production report when I was at EOHLC, and I think it provides a great roadmap of options. I wouldn’t say it’s one policy that is the most important. It’s looking at the ecosystem as a whole. The report included a lot of recommendations: improving how we track housing production and data so we know what progress we are making. There’s a recommendation that the Senate included in legislation around creating a sales tax [break] for construction materials for some projects. You’ve seen the governor include proposals on streamlining the permitting process. That’s something she’s done through MEPA reforms. In the Mass Wins Act there were additional policies that make it easier to convert offices into housing.
Q: How does CHAPA support communities that have limited resources for land-use planning?
A: CHAPA in recent years has been more involved in the local level through its municipal engagement initiative, where it was really working with people on the ground to build that pro-housing voice, and making sure people doing the work at the local level have the education and skills that can help contribute to more housing. CHAPA put together a leadership academy: a curriculum for understanding the housing challenges in Massachusetts and bringing in experts to speak with local planners, and creating opportunities for networking and peer learning.
Q: What is your sense of CHAPA’s top priorities under your leadership?
A: In terms of looking at the role that CHAPA has played, I know our strength is the ability to bring people together who may not always agree but share our goal to address the housing challenges. It affects climate, workforce, health and equity. We have an opportunity to bring people together to work on the lasting solutions. I don’t have any one direction from our board yet, but we are looking forward to continuing our role to make sure we continue the momentum around policy and protect our residents. We know that housing certainly can be a controversial issue that people are very passionate about at the local level.
You can hear a lot of things, and it is different in every community. We hear if there’s more housing, then we’ll have increased school costs, or there’s going to be increased traffic, or it’s going to take away from open space or harm the environment. Our job is to provide data and research and say, “There are concerns of course, but here’s the information on ways that we can address those or counter that narrative. It’s not necessarily true that you’ll see increased school costs, and here’s the data to support that.” And making the connections to show and explain what are the benefits that housing brings.
Shupin’s Five Favorite Massachusetts Museums:
- Norman Rockwell Museum
- New Bedford Whaling Museum
- Peabody Essex Museum
- Museum of Fine Arts
- Harvard Museum of Natural History
