by iwd Tina | Sep 18, 2023 | Housing News
The Joint Committee on Housing will host a hearing on housing-related bills on Wednesday, September 27, at 1:00 p.m.
This hearing includes CHAPA legislative priorities to:
- Codify and Make Program Improvements to Mass. Rental Voucher Program (H.1351/ S.888). MRVP Fact sheet.
- Establish an Office of Fair Housing in Massachusetts (H.1377/ S.866). Fair Housing Fact Sheet.
- Establish a program to provide legal representation to tenants and property owners with low income in eviction cases (S.864).
- Establish a Massachusetts Healthy Homes Program (H.1307/ S.881).
Testify Virtually or In-Person
You can testify at the hearing virtually or in person! To register to testify, please fill out this form below by 5 p.m. today. You will not be able to sign up after 5 p.m. Once registered, you will receive further instructions on how to participate.
The in-person hearing is in room B-1 on Wednesday, Sept 27th, at 1 p.m. at the State House. Directions for room B-1.
Submit Support Letter
You can submit a letter as written testimony in support of bills to the Housing Committee. You can email the testimony directly to Luke O’Roark at luke.oroark@mahouse.gov and Christianna Golden at christianna.golden@masenate.gov. Please share your testimony with us if possible.
Sample testimony for the MRVP Codification bill
Sample Testimony for Healthy Homes Bill
Sample Testimony for Access to Counsel Bill
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List of CHAPA Priority Bills up for Hearing on Sept 27th:
- H.1351/ S.888 An Act Relative to the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program
Sponsored by Rep. Madaro & Sen. Lovely
This legislation grounds the program in state statute (it currently exists through the state budget, at the risk of changes every year) and makes improvements that include:
- Deepening affordability for renters through larger voucher payment shares;
- Improving renter safety by requiring inspections;
- Increasing the administrative fees so regional housing agencies and housing authorities can better cover the cost of the program; and
- Improving data collection.
- H.1377/ S.866 An Act to establish an office of Fair Housing and a Fair Housing Trust fund
Sponsored by Rep. Tyler & Rep. Rogers & Sen. Edwards
This Legislation establishes an Office of Fair Housing and Fair Housing Trust Fund on the State level to help combat housing discrimination at all levels, including development, sales, lending, appraisals, marketing, tenant selection, applications, and zoning.
- S.864 An Act Promoting Access to Counsel and Housing Stability in Massachusetts
Sponsored by Rep. Rogers & Rep. Day & Sen. DiDomenico
This legislation will create an Access to Counsel Program that provides legal representation for tenants and owner-occupants with low incomes in eviction proceedings and help prevent homelessness, stop illegal or unnecessary evictions, and reduce displacement.
- H.1307/ S.881 An Act creating the Massachusetts Healthy Homes Program
Sponsored by Rep. Cruz & Rep. Arriaga & Sen. Keenan
This legislation will create the Massachusetts Healthy Homes Program, providing grants and low-cost loans to income-eligible homeowners and property owners to make the necessary repairs.
Questions?
Please contact Abhi Kurve, CHAPA’s Deputy Director of Public Policy, at akurve@chapa.org or Matt Noyes, CHAPA’s Director of Public Policy at mnoyes@chapa.org.
by iwd Tina | Sep 18, 2023 | Housing News
Earlier this year, the House and Senate each passed tax relief legislation. Included in the Senate version was an increase in the authorization for the state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program by $20 million for a total allocation of $60 million, and a provision to make the program permanent. This provision was not included by the House.
In June, the House and Senate appointed a Conference Committee to reconcile the differences between the two versions of the Tax Relief bill. CHAPA is urging the Legislature to preserve the Senate LIHTC language in the final version of the bill that is expected to be put out in the next several weeks.
CHAPA has drafted a letter to members of the Tax Relief Conference Committee. We urge you all to add your names as signers and advocate for adopting Senate LIHTC provision in the final version of the Tax bill. CHAPA’s Letter to the Conference Committee on LIHTC
Please Sign on to the CHAPA letter asking the Legislature to increase the LIHTC authorization to $60 million and and make it permanent.
Please Sign on by 12 p.m. on Friday, September 22nd.
The Massachusetts LIHTC program awards tax credits to investors in affordable multifamily rental projects. It encourages private investment in affordable housing and allows developers to finance part of the cost of the development with equity invested by local corporations and individuals to help keep rents low. LIHTC is a critical resource in many affordable housing projects across Massachusetts.
You can also reach out to the Conference Committee members and ask them to include Senate LIHTC provision in the Tax bill. Legislators appointed to the Conference Committee for Tax Relief bill:
- House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz
- Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues
- House Chair of the Joint Committee on Revenue Mark Cusack
- Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Revenue Susan Moran
- Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr
- Ranking Member of the Joint Committee on Revenue Michael Soter
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Matt Noyes at mnoyes@chapa.org.
by iwd Tina | Sep 15, 2023 | Housing News
CHAPA applauds the additional guidelines issued by the Administration to the MBTA Multi-family zoning law (3A) that adds thirteen state funding programs communities will be eligible for upon achieving compliance under the 3A law. The additional guidelines also allow communities to offset the minimum multifamily unit capacity in certain mixed-use zoning districts that require first-floor commercial space.
Because commercial requirements can drive up the cost of housing production and make projects unfeasible, communities are required to get approval from EOHLC before the community votes on the zoning proposal. CHAPA is advocating for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to establish a list of criteria for approving mixed-use development districts.
The multifamily zoning requirement for communities served by the MBTA is a critical tool for meeting the housing needs of the Commonwealth, making it possible to meet the goal of producing 200,000 new homes with 40,000 affordable and 20,000 deeply affordable homes by 2030. Mixed-use development is vital to achieving these goals.
Prior to the recent changes made by EOHLC allowing communities to require commercial space in approved mixed-use districts, the guidelines provided communities with the ability to offer incentives for mixed-use development. Incentives, such as allowing increased density and height in exchange for first-floor commercial space make mixed-use development viable. The new guidance allowing communities to establish mixed-use districts with commercial requirements can push costs for development, maintenance, and operations of these buildings beyond what the market can bear for rents, home prices, and commercial leases; potentially making development unfeasible.
Clear criteria for mixed-use development districts will help communities determine which options within the 3A guidelines will work best for them. Clear and objective criteria will also help EOHLC make decisions that meet the goals of the law and support communities in fostering vibrant Main Streets.
Proposed Criteria for Approving Commercial Space Requirements in Mixed-Use Development Districts under MBTA Multifamily Zoning Law (3A)
- Require a Commercial Vacancy Rate Lower than 8% for Existing Commercial Spaces
- Tying the approval to the existing commercial vacancy rate provides EOHLC with key data to understand the health of the commercial market, which impacts a developer’s ability to obtain financing to develop a project. Vacancy rates above 5-8% indicate a lower demand for commercial space. Allowing a commercial requirement in a district with a high commercial vacancy rate can result in less housing, vacant storefronts, or no new development until the market changes.
- Require an Approved Housing Production Plan (HPP)
- The goal of the MBTA Communities Multifamily Zoning law is to make housing production possible. Housing Production Plans demonstrate the different strategies communities will use to foster housing production that meets identified needs.
- Allowing communities to establish mixed-use development districts with commercial requirements can reduce housing production in mixed-use districts. If the commercial requirement hampers housing development in the mixed-use district, other strategies adopted by the community can advance housing production in other locations.
- Require Housing Choice Designation
- This designation demonstrates that a municipality has put in place best practices established by the Commonwealth to support housing production. Like the Housing Production Plan, having multiple strategies and policies in place to support housing production provides a variety of ways to expand housing opportunities for people, advancing the purpose of the MBTA Communities Multifamily Zoning law.
- Require Assurance of Adequate Supporting Infrastructure
- Similar to infrastructure requirements for Chapter 40R districts, communities must demonstrate adequate water/ sewer/ septic resources to support additional commercial spaces to ensure the viability of mixed-use developments.
CHAPA applauds key provisions included in the guidance intended to make mixed-use production possible, including requiring a broad mix of non-residential uses by right and prohibiting minimum parking requirements for non-residential uses. In addition, requiring communities to have mixed-use development districts pre-approved by EOHLC prior to the community’s vote provides the opportunity for EOHLC to determine where commercial requirements can support thriving mixed-use districts. To help communities make this determination, clear decision-making criteria are important. Requiring a market analysis would be most beneficial.
It is critical to demonstrate the strength of the commercial market to understand if a commercial space requirement will be subsidized by the housing component, driving up rents and home prices beyond what the market can bear. This can make housing more expensive and result in long-term commercial vacancies or make it too costly to produce housing. A market analysis would ensure that commercial requirements are determined with the same level of rigor as inclusionary zoning requirements that exceed the 10% allowed in the guidelines. With no market analysis required in the guidelines, CHAPA is requesting that EOHLC establish the above-mentioned criteria for approving mixed-use development districts. Please join these efforts and urge EOHLC to establish the criteria for allowing mandatory mixed-use in 3A districts.
by iwd Tina | Aug 29, 2023 | Housing News
On August 8th, Governor Healey declared a state of emergency and issued a call to action to expand resources for shelter, housing, and services for the more than 5,000 families now in the state’s emergency shelter system.
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) and New Lease for Homeless Families (New Lease) are working with the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and Massachusetts Law Reform Institute to bring the affordable housing community together to support the Healey-Driscoll Administration in preserving access to Family Shelter System, ensuring housing stability, and improving services for all families experiencing homelessness. Read our statement here.
How You Can Help?
CHAPA and New Lease are collecting information about available apartments along with information from property owners about what is needed to make these homes available to families who are in shelters.
If you have already entered information into the state’s portal, please continue to fill out this form and let us know that you have sent information to the state via the last question. By collecting this information, we can better work with you and the state to overcome any barriers to renting these apartments to families. We will share all of this information with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities so that they can support households in finding a home they can afford.
In addition to opening up housing opportunities, please contribute to the Massachusetts Migrant Families Relief Fund, a partnership between United Way of Massachusetts Bay and The Boston Foundation to address the humanitarian crisis faced by migrants seeking asylum in Massachusetts, while also supporting the local, community-based organizations serving new arrivals.
Thank you for all you do to expand affordable housing opportunities so that everyone can have a safe, healthy, home they can afford.
by iwd Tina | Aug 22, 2023 | Housing News
On August 17th, the Healey Administration issued additional guidelines to the MBTA Multi-family zoning law (3A). The guidelines add 13 state funding programs that MBTA communities will be eligible for upon achieving compliance and allow MBTA communities the option to require ground-floor commercial space in multi-family buildings in up to 25% of their multi-family districts. Because commercial requirements can drive up the cost of housing production and make projects unfeasible, communities are required to get approval from EOHLC before the community votes on the zoning proposal.
CHAPA is advocating for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to quickly establish clear criteria for communities around this new option. With deadlines quickly approaching for communities to have their multi-family zoning districts in place, communities need a clear understanding of whether or not this option is something they should consider. All MBTA communities can continue to offer incentives for mixed-use development, such as allowing increased density and height to make mixed-use development possible.
Here is a summary of the revision to the guidelines:
1. Allow an MBTA community to “offset” the minimum multi-family unit capacity requirement in certain multi-family zoning district(s) by up to 25%, based on the unit capacity of a mixed-use zoning district that meets key requirements of Section 3A and the Guidelines, but for requiring a ground floor non-residential component. Such “offset” – only available where existing village-style or downtown development is essential to preserve pedestrian access to amenities – still requires a municipality to demonstrate the same total amount of unit capacity.
2. Protect the financial feasibility of achieving housing goals where mixed-use zoning requires groundfloor non-residential uses by (i) setting forth location criteria for mixed-use development districts and requiring that EOHLC has pre-approved the location before the MBTA community’s vote on its zoning changes; (ii) capping the percentage floor area of each development that may be required to be non-residential (ground floor only); (iii) requiring a broad mix of non-residential uses allowed as of right; and (iv) prohibiting minimum parking requirements for non-residential uses.
3. Allow MBTA communities to locate more housing in walkable and transit-oriented neighborhoods without jeopardizing existing non-residential resources and amenities. Many MBTA communities expressed a desire to locate districts in village-style or downtown neighborhoods but feared that allowing multi-family housing as of right in those areas could risk a loss of existing businesses and buildings. Many residents expressed a desire to live in village-style, downtown, and transit-oriented neighborhoods.
4. Add a list of thirteen discretionary grant programs to Section 9 to alert MBTA communities of additional grant programs that will consider compliance with Section 3A in making grant awards.
The programs added by the revised guidelines (in addition to the Local Capital Project Fund, Housing Choice grants, and MassWorks infrastructure grant) are:
• Community Planning Grants
• Massachusetts Downtown Initiative
• Urban Agenda
• Rural and Small Town Development Fund
• Brownfields Redevelopment Fund
• Site Readiness Program
• Underutilized Properties Program
• Collaborative Workspace Program
• Real Estate Services Technical Assistance
• Commonwealth Places Programs
• Land Use Planning Grants
• Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity
• Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Planning and Project Grants
Refer to the detailed language of the guidelines.
by iwd Tina | Aug 17, 2023 | Housing News
The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless (MCH), Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI), and the undersigned organizations support the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s efforts to expand resources for shelter, housing, and other resources for families experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts. We affirm the Administration’s commitment to preserving access to the Commonwealth’s Emergency Assistance family shelter system for all eligible families with children. We are also grateful for the broad call to action to support newly arrived immigrant families. We stand ready to share our knowledge and assistance in these efforts in the days and weeks ahead, and we offer key recommendations today.
We believe there are immediate actions available to alleviate the current crisis, uphold human dignity, and invest in long-term housing solutions that expand deeply affordable and permanent supportive housing. With the state’s leadership, together we can and must:
- Help families swiftly move out of Emergency Assistance and other temporary shelter programs into permanent affordable housing
- Strengthen homelessness prevention resources to ensure that more families and individuals can maintain housing stability
- Expand available services for newly arrived immigrant families and improve service coordination for all families experiencing homelessness
The fiscal year 2024 state budget, signed into law on August 9th by Governor Healey, includes new tools and resources that will move us in the right direction. The budget provides record funding to keep Emergency Assistance shelters open, strengthens the HomeBASE diversion and rehousing program, provides additional long-term housing subsidies through the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, includes policy changes to make housing more affordable for residents with low incomes, and reinstates Chapter 257 eviction protections to prevent unnecessary evictions for renters applying for emergency rental assistance. We call on the Administration and Legislature to take the next steps to bring these service, housing, and prevention resources to scale through supplemental appropriations, passing an Affordable Housing Bond Bill with increased investments in deeply affordable housing, and deploying federal resources, such as the remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds.
We also know that money alone is not enough to end the emergency. In addition to mobilizing communities, businesses, organizations, and individuals, we call on the state to take bold, creative, and coordinated action to intensify efforts to help families move out of shelter into housing, strengthen homelessness prevention resources, expand available services to all families experiencing homelessness, and target supports to newly arrived immigrant families. In doing so, we call on the Commonwealth to bring key stakeholders to the table and uplift the experiences and expertise of families and communities most affected by the crisis.
We offer our assistance towards achieving the shared goal of ensuring that every family has a safe, affordable, and permanent place to call home and the safety of shelter while awaiting those housing opportunities. We know we can come together for a strong Commonwealth for all.
Sincerely,
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
Kelly Turley
Associate Director
kelly@mahomeless.org
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Andrea M. Park
Director of Community Driven Advocacy
apark@mlri.org
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association
Rachel Heller
Chief Executive Officer
rheller@chapa.org
Endorsing Organizations (in alphabetical order):
Abby’s House
Arise for Social Justice
Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority
Berkshire Housing
Berkshire United Way
Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc.
Catholic Charities Worcester County
Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance
Central West Justice Center
Chicopee Public Schools
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association
Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc.
Craig’s Doors
Domus Incorporated
El Colibrí
Eliot Community Human Service
Everett Haitian Community Center (The EHCC)
Family and Community Resources, Inc
Family Health Center of Worcester
Family Promise North Shore Boston
FamilyAid
Greater Boston Legal Services
Greenfield Housing Authority
Greening Greenfield
HarborCOV
Housing Families Inc
Housing Justice for Survivors, Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School
I.C. Solutions LLC
Immigrant Family Services Institute
Independence House Inc.
Jane Doe Inc. (JDI), The MA Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
Jewish Family Service of MetroWest LUK, Inc.
Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS)
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Massachusetts Public Health Association
Metro Housing|Boston
MetroWest Legal Services
My Life My Choice
New Lease for Homeless Families
Northeast Justice Center
Northern Middlesex Council of Governments
One Family
Pine Street Inn
Regional Housing Network of Massachusetts
Rosie’s Place
Salasin Project
SEIU Local 509
South Shore Resource and Advocacy Center
Spanish American Center, Inc.
St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Community
Stop Bullying Coalition
The Rian Immigrant Center
United Way of Massachusetts Bay
Valley Community Development
Vasquez Mary Kay
Veterans Inc.
Way Finders
Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness
Women’s Money Matters
Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj
Worcester City Councilor At-Large Thu Nguyen
Worcester Community Action Council
YWCA Central Massachusetts
