With the December 31 MBTA Communities Act deadline fast approaching for 129 cities and towns, the Winthrop town council has rejected the only viable zoning plan that would allow the community to comply with the law, which was passed to help alleviate the housing shortage plaguing Massachusetts.
Housing
Posted inHousing
In Fall River, the scarcity and cost of housing helped turn a blue city red
FALL RIVER turned red in last month’s election, carried by the Republican presidential nominee for the first time in 100 years, shocking Democrats, and launching a search to find what had changed in the once deep blue city. The primary answer came quickly from the people of Fall River themselves in interview after interview: We […]
Posted inGovernment
Emergency shelter commission backs recommendations for $1B program
A special commission tasked with offering solutions to the state’s overwhelmed emergency housing assistance program voted on Tuesday to approve a report with a series of recommendations, but no clear roadmap.
Posted inHousing
Report says Gateway Cities need to double housing production to meet rising demand
Gateway Cities can play a key role in addressing the state housing shortage, but they need to build 83,000 new housing units over the next decade – double their pace of production over the last 10 years – in order to bring supply and demand into balance and stabilize prices.
Posted inHousing
Emergency shelter system should move away from one-size-fits-all model, officials say
The state’s emergency shelter system, hit with an influx of migrant families, should seek financial stability by shifting away from a one-size-fits-all model and reducing reliance on hotels and motels, according to members of a state commission studying the system.
Posted inHousing
Single stairwell buildings could be next frontier in housing reform
The report estimates that doing away with the second stairwell could cut construction costs by 15 to 25 percent and add about 130,000 new homes on undeveloped small- to mid-sized parcels near public transit in the Greater Boston area.
Posted inHousing
Lawmakers say they meant for MBTA Communities law to have teeth
“What I found interesting was what the case was not about,” zoning expert and consultant Amy Dain said on The Codcast. “The justices and the lawyers in the courtroom were not debating whether there’s a housing crisis. “
Posted inHousing
SJC raises questions about MBTA Communities Act penalties
There seemed to be a mixed reception to the arguments on Monday, with some justices inclined to parse legal minutiae that could support a narrow ruling on technical grounds. Others appeared compelled by a broader public policy argument that could allow wide latitude for the state to enforce laws designed to address the crippling housing shortage.
Posted inOpinion
Mortgage discrimination, which leads to segregation, needs to be addressed
The consequences are devasting for first-time buyers, as thousands of sellers, advised by their agents, make the same decision to pick cash or conventional offers over the perceived hassle of working with an FHA buyer – a decision too often based on misperceptions rather than underlying truths.
Posted inHousing
75 municipalities now on board with MBTA Communities law
The event came after the town of Southborough, a Worcester County community that has a stop on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line, narrowly voted to approve its multifamily zoning plan, making it a total of 75 communities “acting in good faith to follow the law,” according to Campbell.