by iwd Tina | Dec 17, 2021 | Housing News
Statement from CHAPA, MACDC, and MAHA
on American Rescue Plan Act housing spending in Massachusetts
December 7, 2021
We thank the Legislature for passing a bill that invests over $600 million from the Commonwealth’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fiscal Recovery Funds into affordable housing. This funding will have a real impact on people’s lives by allowing us to quickly produce new affordable homes. We urge Governor Baker to sign this bill into law and put Massachusetts on a path to making homes more affordable and closing our racial homeownership gap.
This funding is a strong first step. And, we can do more. To fully capitalize on the opportunity presented by this once-in-a-generation investment from the federal government, we must continue down this path and invest an additional $600 million of the remaining ARPA funds into affordable housing.
Whether you are examining rents or home prices, Massachusetts is one of the highest-cost states in the country. The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Out of Reach report ranks Massachusetts as the 3rd least affordable state for renters. And we have profound racial disparities in who gets to own a home in our state, with 70% of white households owning compared to just 35% of Black, Latinx, and Asian households. Those disparities extend to renters, with more tenants of color being cost-burdened than their white counterparts.
Given the level of housing stress that exists for so many Massachusetts families and our capacity at the state and local levels to create the homes we need, we should build upon Governor Baker’s proposal to spend $1 billion of ARPA funds on affordable housing. Massachusetts has been awarded $5.3 billion. There has never been a better moment to put our state on a path to equity by investing in affordable housing, particularly in communities of color.
By investing in housing and narrowing the racial homeownership gap, we can emerge from the pandemic stronger. Hundreds of families will be able to purchase their first home and start building for the future. We will be able to create the homes with the supportive services needed to help get people off the streets and recover. We can make our housing safer, healthier, more energy-efficient, and resilient to climate change. Thousands of current and future residents of public housing will benefit by ensuring these deeply affordable homes remain for generations to come.
We call on our state legislative leaders to pass a second ARPA spending bill by the end of this legislative session that commits an additional $600 million to affordable housing opportunities and closing the racial homeownership gap.
The urgent impacts of the COVID pandemic and the damaging legacy of racial injustice are putting our entire Commonwealth’s future at risk. We applaud the initial down payment of $600 million, which will make a difference in so many lives, but we must invest more in our communities before the end of the legislative session to ensure a better future for every Massachusetts resident.
by iwd Tina | Dec 17, 2021 | Housing News
Today, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) announced their selection of seven communities for their Municipal Engagement Initiative (MEI) 2022 cohort. MEI provides support and technical assistance to communities in their efforts to create coalitions in support of affordable housing. With local expertise at the forefront, MEI seeks to help municipalities develop unique, actionable strategies that work within the context of each community.
“Housing is critical to resilient, vibrant communities,” said Rachel Heller, CHAPA’s chief executive officer. “We are excited to support this cohort in actualizing their vision for their communities and bringing together different voices towards one goal: to create the equitable, healthy, and sustainable future we all want and deserve through affordable housing. All of Massachusetts benefits when every community says yes to housing.”
The three communities selected for the full MEI program are the City of Chelsea (in collaboration with the Anti-Displacement Roundtable), the Town of Milton, and the Town of Andover. Four communities selected for the MEI Lite program, which provides technical assistance on a range of focused efforts, such as helping communities to get started or helping communities expand their work, are the Town of Easthampton, the Berkshires Regional Planning Commission, the Town of Winchester (via the Network for Social Justice), and the City of Lowell (via Community Teamwork, Inc. and the Housing Choice Coalition).
“The Network is so excited about being chosen for this CHAPA initiative,” said Liora Norwich, executive director of the Network for Social Justice. “We are seeking to find new ways to build community engagement and support for the goal of diversifying Winchester’s housing stock. Through this work we want to build a strong grassroots coalition of people who are informed about the historical and present-day rationale for increasing affordable housing in our town, and are able to work with us to advance a strategy to build bridges around this issue.”
“On behalf of the Easthampton Affordable and Fair Housing Partnership, I am thrilled that Easthampton has been accepted into CHAPA’s Municipal Engagement Initiative,” said Janna Tetreault, the Chair of the Easthampton Affordable and Fair Housing Partnership. “Participating in this Initiative will help the city create and educate a broad and diverse coalition to support our affordable housing goals. This is crucial, as we hope to have more opportunities to build affordable housing in the future.”
Since its inception in 2018, MEI has partnered with fifteen communities over four cohorts using CHAPA’s statewide collaborative model. Past successes of the local coalitions who participated in MEI include Medford’s first Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, the creation of a Revere Affordable Housing Trust, and the defeat of a ballot referendum to overturn approval of a multi-family housing development with significant affordable homes in Newton, as well as other zoning reforms and affordable housing developments.
“The Town of Andover is excited to partner with CHAPA to engage our community in purposeful conversations on the topic of housing and to advocate for housing policies that meet the needs of our community,” said Anthony Collins, associate planner in the Town of Andover Planning Division.
Interested communities submitted an application to CHAPA that demonstrated the need for community coalition building in their city or town, highlighting triggers such as new leadership, key initiatives launching, and increased opposition to affordable housing that would require a strategic response.
by iwd Tina | Dec 15, 2021 | Housing News
On December 15, 2021, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) released draft guidelines for the new multifamily zoning requirement for MBTA communities. Along with the guidelines, DHCD also posted information about technical assistance, upcoming webinars, the public comment period, and other supplemental information.
Please read CHAPA’s detailed summary of the draft guidelines.
Governor Baker signed the new law in January 2021 as a part of an Economic Development Bill. The law requires an MBTA community to have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right around public transit and that meets other criteria set forth in the statute. MBTA communities that do not create a zoning district that complies with the new law will be ineligible for funds from the MassWorks Program, the Housing Choice Initiative, and the state’s Local Capital Projects
DHCD will host an informational virtual webinar on the draft guidelines on Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 1:00 p.m.
The Baker-Polito Administration will be soliciting input and feedback from key stakeholders over the next few months. DHCD will accept public comments on the draft guidelines through March 31, 2022.
DHCD plans to issue final guidelines in summer 2022.
by iwd Tina | Dec 13, 2021 | Housing News
On December 13, 2021, Governor Baker signed the spending bill into law for more than half of the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fiscal Recovery Funds. The law provides over $600 million in affordable housing investments, including funds to create new rental and homeownership opportunities, build supportive housing, and restore public housing. The Governor vetoed language that included reporting requirements but left spending amounts intact.
Homeownership Assistance (1599-2020)
$65,000,000
- allocaties funding to address the homeownership gap by creating opportunities for first time home-buyers through down payment assistance programs, mortgage insurance programs and mortgage interest subsidy programs in disadvantaged communities impacted by the pandemic
- requires administering agency to submit spending plan 30 days before obligating funds and a report to the Legislature
CommonWealth Builder – Homeownership Production (1599-2021)
$115,000,000
- directs funds to first-time homebuyers and socially disadvantaged individuals in disproportionately impacted communities in the pandemic through MassHousing’s CommonWealth Builder program
- language limits spending to MassHousing’s CommonWealth Builder program, removing Massachusetts Housing Partnership or other similar program from being able to administer funds (as originally proposed by the House)
- explicitly limits income eligibility to 70-120% of Area Median Income (AMI) and create a preference for the following:
- Projects serving 70% AMI
- Projects that include clean energy and sustainability initiatives
- Projects in communities that have changes zoning using Housing Choice
- includes minimum size of 6 units for projects
- requires funds to be distributed in a way that promotes geographic equity
- allows grants to include a requirement for matching funds
Rental Production (1599-2022)
Conference: $115,000,000
- establishes funding for affordable housing production and preservation to be administered by Dept. of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), MassHousing and Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) agencies through grants, loans and financial assistance for affordable housing projects receiving LIHTC, state tax exempt bond funds or other state funds
- allows $2M from this line item to be spent on Housing Development Incentive Program
- establishes priorities for projects with clean energy and sustainability initiatives and directs funds to be spent in a way that promotes geographic equity
- requires a spending plan to be submitted 30 days before distributing funds
Supportive Housing (1599-2023)
$150,000,000
- establishes funding for production of permanent supportive housing for the following priority populations:
- Individuals and families who may be classified as chronically homeless
- Survivors of domestic violence
- Seniors
- Veterans
- Individuals and families with behavioral health needs or substance abuse needs
- Survivors of human trafficking
- Survivors of sexual violence
- Individuals and families at risk of entering or transitioning out of the foster care system
- Youth and young adults
- includes language explicitly allowing funds to be used for acquisition of temporary housing, like hotels and motels, to convert into supportive housing
- includes language to provide $15 million to the Massachusetts Alliance for Supportive Housing (MASH) to create supportive housing to address overcrowded congregate shelters and encampments of unsheltered individuals
- directs the DHCD to consult with MASH on evidence-based and evidence-informed best practices for creating and expanding permanent supportive housing for the populations prioritized in this item
- requires DHCD, in consultation with MASH, to submit a report on how the funds are being used to reduce chronic and long term homelessness
- provides $50 million for DHCD, in consultation with MASH, to create supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals and families
- language explicitly prioritizes disproportionately impacted communities
- allows funds to be used for medical, health and wellness facilities within existing and planned supportive affordable housing communities
- directs funds to be used to ensure geographic equity
- directs $20 million for increasing geographic equity and accessibility related to the continuum of long-term care services for veterans not primarily served by the Soldiers’ Home in Massachusetts located in Chelsea or Holyoke
Public Housing (1599-2024)
150,000,000
- establishes funding for rehab and modernization of state public housing for improvements that will help comply with current code
- Prioritizes projects in disproportionately impacted communities
- directs funds to be distributed to achieve geographic equity
- The language allows grants to require matching funds from the municipality
- requires spending plan to be submitted to the Office of Administration and Finance 30 days before distributing any funds
Green Energy Retrofitting (1599-2035)
$6,500,000
- Establishes funding for a pilot program administered by the Dept. of Energy Resources for moderate to low-income housing in Gateway Municipalities, qualified census tracts and similar municipalities to be retrofitted with energy efficient/ clean/ renewable technologies
- The eligible projects require to retrofit 10 or more units
- Dept. of Energy Resources in consultation with the center, DHCD and Dept. of Public Utilities will set up the application criteria and incentives for property owners to maintain affordability for a certain period after the retrofitting
- Directs the Dept. of Energy Resource to collect data, best practices and submit a report to the Legislature in 6 months on the energy savings and pollution mitigation through the pilot program
