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Boston Globe
25-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Massachusetts needs more affordable housing, study says. Lots of it.
The figure makes clear the bleak reality: the state's affordable housing system is no longer a reliable safety net. It is a rare commodity awarded only to a lucky few who, in some instances, quite literally 'The reality is that we need thousands and thousands more units of affordable housing for people of every income, every household size, in every place in Massachusetts,' said Jessie Partridge Guerrero, director of data services at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, which wrote the report with Housing Navigator Massachusetts, a nonprofit that created a statewide centralized affordable housing waitlist. 'It's not necessarily shocking information, but the scale of that number certainly puts into perspective how far away we are from solving this problem.' Unsurprisingly, the state's 'affordability gap,' as researchers describe it, is the worst for the state's poorest residents. Advertisement Of those 441,000 households who qualify for affordable housing but can't access it, some 44 percent are considered extremely low-income, meaning they make 30 percent of the area median income — in Greater Boston that's $48,950 for a family of four — or less. Advertisement Those residents qualify for the government's deepest affordable housing subsidies such as The Stone Mill Lofts in Lawrence, an old mill building converted into energy-efficient affordable housing. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff The result is families who end up paying huge portions of their income toward rent, or endure overcrowded apartments, illegal or unsafe units, or in extreme cases, homelessness. For families who earn just a little more — 'very low income' households between 30 and 50 percent of the AMI — there are even fewer resources, the report found, because most state and federal programs target either the poorest residents or middle income earners, not anyone in between. Section 8 and public housing are designated for the state's poorest families, and the popular state affordable programs Chapter 40B and inclusionary zoning typically build units for people earning 80 percent of AMI. The people in between, 30 to 50 percent AMI earners, make too much money for public housing, and too little for inclusionary zoning units. The result is that 81 percent of those households do not live in affordable housing, the report found. 'We call it the missing middle,' said Jerome DuVal, executive director of Housing Navigator. 'We have programs for people earning more than them, and programs for people earning much less. But in this push to build more, we've missed some folks who need an affordable home.' And while the state has a shortage of affordable units for families, the greatest need is for homes that can house 'small households' with one or two members. That, the reports' authors say, is at least a positive note, because those homes are smaller, cheaper, and easier to build. Advertisement The underlying problem is that the state has not built nearly enough affordable housing in recent decades. At the same time, the price of market-rate homes has soared, and 'naturally occurring affordable housing' like older triple-decker units that rented for cheap, have been flipped, upgraded, or simply had rents raised. Classic three-deckers and other small multi-family buildings, which have long provided a stock of relatively affordable rental housing in Eastern Massachusetts, have in recent years been increasingly converted to more expensive for-sale condos. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff And income growth has not kept up with the pace of housing price growth, meaning more people than ever qualify for affordable housing. The aim of the report, said DuVal, is to encourage state policymakers to consider solutions to the state's deep housing shortage will stimulate building for people at all income levels. Simply building market-rate housing, while important, won't provide immediate relief for the people who need it the most. 'The urgency to build a lot more housing is real,' said DuVal. 'But we want to make sure that its not just about more. It's also about ensuring we build the right kinds of housing for the right people in the right places.' Andrew Brinker can be reached at
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
City leaders urge action to keep remote meetings alive
BOSTON (SHNS) – From Brockton to Buckland and Northfield to Newton, more than 60 municipal officials are asking lawmakers to take swift action to allow them to continue to hold remote and hybrid public meetings beyond the upcoming March 31 expiration of that pandemic-era policy. In a letter led by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Mass. Association of Regional Planning Agencies, officials from 45 different communities said the remote and hybrid allowances tacked onto the Open Meeting Law in 2020 have made it easier both for residents to meaningfully participate in local government and for municipal officials to manage the increased activity. 'The flexibility to hold public meetings via in-person, hybrid, or remote means is critical to ensuring that we can continue to provide maximum support and flexibility for our residents,' the letter said. It added, 'These options we have had since the beginning of COVID to access public meetings should be made permanent. With over 4 years of these flexible meetings, our residents appreciate and have come to expect these options.' Remote and Hybrid Meeting Extension Expiration on March 31Download Lawmakers have repeatedly extended the virtual meeting flexibility that began five years ago, but have not made them permanent and have often taken action right at the deadline. The new version of Gov. Maura Healey's local option tax bill, filed in January, would permanently authorize municipalities to permit hybrid public meetings. But open government and disability advocacy organizations came out in opposition to the fine details of Healey's plan, saying her approach would 'shut people out of the democratic process by only allowing — and not requiring — municipalities to provide hybrid participation options.' As the law currently stands, public bodies are not required to provide remote access to a public meeting if it is held in a physical location that is open and accessible to the public. 'Nonetheless, we encourage public bodies to provide multiple methods of access to a meeting when feasible,' the attorney general's office said in guidance to communities. If a public body is not meeting in an open and accessible physical location, it must provide live 'adequate, alternative means' of public access to its deliberations, the AG's office said. In their letter last week to key legislative leaders, the municipal officials also made a budget request. Among the signatories are the mayors of Salem, Chelsea, Peabody, Newton, Lynn and Somerville. 'In addition to ensuring the continuity of these flexibilities, we ask that in the upcoming FY26 budget and other funding deliberations, you consider including funding for technology updates, staffing needs, and broadband expansion to further increase public access to all levels of government,' they wrote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Mass. state auditor Diana DiZoglio accuses AG Andrea Campbell of trying to ‘scapegoat' her, ratcheting up dispute
DiZoglio's move to respond through a public letter is, on its face, an extraordinary step, openly pitting two statewide officials — elected together on the In a Advertisement 'It's not difficult but it does require that leaders actually speak to one another without immediately assuming the worst so we can get the required work done,' she wrote. Campbell's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The Democrats' dispute erupted late last month when DiZoglio, responding to requests from several communities, issued an opinion determining that the four-year-old MBTA Communities Act 'does not provide a funding mechanism for compliance with its provisions.' The letter effectively provided a new pathway for municipalities to challenge the law in court, and prompted the director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council to accuse DiZoglio of 'throwing a wrench' into the state's attempts to spur more housing. Campbell, who DiZoglio responded Tuesday, writing in a three-page letter that she also addressed to Governor Maura Healey that she felt the need to address 'significant misunderstandings' about her office's decision. Advertisement She wrote that 'attempts to scapegoat my office, by the Attorney General and others, for issues that have arisen due to the inadequate vetting of well-intentioned legislation' were 'grossly out of line and incredibly disingenuous.' She also accused Campbell and others, without naming them, of 'mischaracterizing' her office's opinion as stepping beyond its mandated duties. 'I find it hugely disappointing that any colleague of mine would politically weaponize my office's fulfillment of its legally required duties,' DiZoglio added. The letter comes on the heels of weeks of public sparring between DiZoglio and Campbell over an entirely different issue: DiZoglio's attempts to audit the Legislature. Voters in November overwhelmingly approved a ballot question giving DiZoglio the authority to probe the Massachusetts House and Senate. DiZoglio told lawmakers in January that she Lawmakers, however, have put up an early resistance, arguing that DiZoglio's audit attempts could violate the constitutional separation of powers between the branches. Legislators and DiZoglio's office for months have sparred in dueling letters, a DiZoglio has openly accused lawmakers of Advertisement Like DiZoglio and lawmakers, the attorney general and the auditor have also traded heated remarks in the press. After a Campbell spokesperson issued a statement Monday rapping DiZoglio for needing a 'constant reminder' about the process it uses to bring litigation, DiZoglio 'Sending your staffer out to patronize and reprimand a constitutional officer and colleague of yours is cowardly,' she said. DiZoglio said in a radio appearance last week that she was even considering filing a so-called DiZoglio's office suggested Tuesday it might not actually take that step, saying in a statement that officials there have discussed 'some of the procedural hurdles' it could face should the auditor file the civil action directly. Andrew Carden, a DiZoglio spokesperson, described a type of catch-22: In order to file a lawsuit seeking to compel Campbell to act, DiZoglio would have to file it without the attorney general's office — who by law, represents the state in all court matters. Carden said DiZoglio is instead speaking with others 'who have expressed interest in working with the Auditor to help file mandamus actions.' Outside groups, such as the right-leaning Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, have already 'We're always looking to sue the state,' Paul Craney, the group's executive director, said in December. That may ultimately mean targeting Campbell's office itself. In her appearance on GBH's 'Boston Public Radio,' DiZoglio offered thinly veiled criticisms of Campbell and Healey, both of whom have said they voted for the ballot question giving DiZoglio authority to audit legislators. DiZoglio actively put the initiative on the ballot, including collecting signatures and donating more than $100,000 from her campaign account to the effort. Advertisement 'You know, it would have been nice to have received any sort of semblance of support during the election cycle. We didn't receive it from either actually,' DiZoglio said. DiZoglio said she still works with both on other issues, and that despite 'disagreements,' it doesn't mean they're not collaborating. That said, DiZoglio also indicated she feels she's waging her fight for a legislative audit without much help from other elected officials. 'This is a lonely place on Beacon Hill right now,' she said. Matt Stout can be reached at
Boston Globe
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Auditor calls key state housing law an ‘unfunded mandate,' raising prospect of more lawsuits
The office of State Auditor Diana DiZoglio issued an opinion late last week calling MBTA Communities an 'unfunded mandate,' citing a law that requires the Legislature to allocate funding for new laws that impose costs on municipalities. The Auditor's Division of Local Mandates issued the decision after several towns requested the office to weigh in, and determined that 'The MBTA Communities Act does not provide a funding mechanism for compliance with its provisions,' the office wrote. The decision effectively provides a new pathway for municipalities to challenge the law in court, though it is not clear how much weight the auditor's decision would hold in such a case. Related : Advertisement The opinion blindsided and enraged some housing advocates, who accused DiZoglio of standing in the way of a law that is meant to spark the production of much-needed homes in a state where housing prices 'It's very unfortunate that the auditor is throwing a wrench into a critical policy that is meant to see more housing built in Massachusetts,' said Marc Draisen, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. 'We are decades behind in producing the homes that people need, and this law is one of the few times that the Legislature has chosen to address this issue.' The auditor's opinion, which comes four years after the law was signed by then-Governor Charlie Baker, came after three towns requested DiZoglio's office weigh in on the issue: Wrentham, Middleborough, and the auditor's hometown of Methuen. (DiZoglio, who was a state senator when MBTA Communities was passed, voted for State Auditor Diana DiZoglio. Erin Clark/Globe Staff Her office argued that the law constitutes an unfunded mandate under the Local Mandate law because the Legislature did not appropriate funds when it first passed the legislation in 2021, even though the state has since doled out millions of dollars in grants to towns to pay for consultants to help draft their zoning. Advertisement 'Establishment of the grant programs... did not occur contemporaneously with the enactment of [MBTA Communities],' the office wrote, which is a requirement of the Local Mandate law. DiZoglio's office said municipalities may be able to petition the Superior Court for an exemption with the opinion. Typically, in cases of unfunded mandates, the auditor's office conducts a fiscal analysis to precisely determine the burden of a mandate on cities and towns. DiZoglio's office did not do that analysis for MBTA Communities because it would require 'further data collection,' which it said it would conduct in the future. Related : Draisen, whose organization has provided funding and technical assistance aimed at helping communities write compliant zoning, rejected the notion that MBTA Communities is a fiscal burden on towns. The state, he said, 'has gone overboard to try and provide either funding or assistance to communities to help them with this effort.' Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who sued Milton last year after residents overturned an MBTA Communities zoning plan, pushed back against the opinion, saying that it does not carry any weight unless a court makes a similar determination. 'The Auditor's claim that the MBTA Communities Law is an unfunded mandate is wrong, and, more importantly, this letter has no effect whatsoever on implementation of the law,' Campbell said in a statement. 'If those who oppose housing affordability try to make a similar claim in court, the state will vigorously defend the law, and we intend to be successful, as we have been so far.' Advertisement Still, the opinion has empowered opponents in many communities, who see it as an opportunity to either secure an exemption for their town from their law, or undermine it statewide. The Select Board in Wrentham, Mark Germain, chair of the Middleborough Select Board, wrote on Facebook that 'the short version is, the State Auditor has ruled that the MBTA Communities Act is an unfunded mandate and is unenforceable.' Middleborough is one of six communities that the state now considers out of compliance with the law after it missed a February deadline to submit a plan to comply. Housing advocates and some developers said they're frustrated by the opinion because it give towns more runway to challenge the law in court, even after the Supreme Judicial Court issued 'Despite the modest progress to restore production, Healey and her team have worked very hard, and to have the Auditor attempt to throw a wrench into the process is grossly irresponsible,' said Jay Doherty, CEO of development firm Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, which has several projects planned under MBTA Communities. 'It's purely political.' Andrew Brinker can be reached at
