The mayors or town managers of fourteen area towns and cities, including Newton, have formed a regional housing partnership to address the acute housing shortage in and around Boston.
With this new regional effort, the Metro Mayors have outlined a pledge to:
- Increase the pace of housing construction in every community throughout Metro Boston, sharing the burden of production in order to increase housing affordability for all household types and incomes;
- Create more housing, both renter- and owner-occupied, in a variety of sizes, including units with two or three bedrooms suitable for families with children;
- Locate housing near transit and in walkable areas;
- Utilize design standards that increase physical accessibility for all ages and abilities;
- Reduce evictions, eliminate unfair rental practices, mitigate displacement, create permanent housing for the homeless, and ensure safe, stable housing;
- Abolish discrimination against both tenants and buyers, and advance fair, equitable access to housing opportunity.
To do this, the group will identify a regional housing production goal and a timeline to achieve it. The plan will take into account demographic data and projections, economic forecasts, development trends, and analysis of current production levels. The target will break down the demand for housing type by price, size and location, and will account for the need for both rental and ownership unit creation.
The group will also recommend changes to zoning, local policies, funding calculations for state aid toward public schools, and other tools each city and town can use to help address the housing affordability crisis together. Working as a regional team, the group will also be able to respond faster to residents in crisis, finding resources and taking action to provide direct assistance.
Certainly, the slow growth of housing in Newton and the sharp rise in housing prices as a result have contributed to the shortage of affordable housing in the region. Is this something, though, that the mayor can do much about. The big levers in Newton — zoning changes and special permits — are controlled by the City Council, not the mayor. Similarly, the recent Baker housing initiative is a strong statement in favor of housing, but the big impact requires the state house.
Thoughts?
