by iwd Tina | Nov 10, 2022 | Housing News
On November 10, Governor Baker signed the Economic Development Bill into law. The Legislature sent the Governor a final bill on November 2, after months of delay following the end of the legislative session this summer. The Governor vetoed only $1.1 million from the $3.76 billion bill and several outside sections.
The Governor left in place all the affordable housing related spending and policy sections in the bill. This includes:
- $100 million for homeownership production
- $150 million for workforce housing
- $100 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund
- $1 million for acquisition of small properties for affordable housing
- $20 million for the state Community Preservation Trust Fund
- Public housing reforms to all for more redevelopment projects by providing an exemption for these projects from the filed sub-bid requirements
CHAPA thanks Governor Baker for signing the bill and including these critical resources.
by iwd Tina | Nov 3, 2022 | Housing News
On November 2, a final Economic Development Bill (H.5374) emerged from its conference committee in the state Legislature. Uncertainty caused by an obscure tax rebate law triggered by stronger-than-expected tax collections delayed the bill’s progress since the end of formal legislative sessions on July 31, 2022.
The conference committee presented a slimmed down Economic Development Bill compared to the versions passed earlier this year by the House and Senate. The final bill dropped certain tax relief proposals and any capital spending approvals.
The House is expected to unanimously approve the bill on November 3 followed by the Senate before sending it to the Governor for his signature or vetoes.
There’s nearly $450 million from state funds and American Rescue Plan Act Fiscal Recovery Funds invested into housing programs, including for homeownership production, workforce housing, ELI housing, refugee assistance, acquisition, the CPA, and for an equitable developers fund.
The final bill also contains CHAPA’s top legislative priority on public housing redevelopment. The bill will exempt public housing redevelopment projects from the filed sub-bid requirements of our public construction laws. This is a critical step forward for preserving the state’s public housing!
Unfortunately, not all of our priorities made it into the final Economic Development Bill. The bill does not contain capital reauthorizations for affordable housing programs. The Legislature also dropped language that would have permitted Accessory Dwelling Units by-right in every city and town and language to seal certain eviction records. CHAPA will continue to work on securing these policies and resources as we begin the next legislative session in 2023.
CHAPA thanks Speaker Mariano, Senate President Spilka, House Ways and Means Chair Michlewitz, Senate Ways and Means Chair Rodrigues, and other members of the conference committee for their commitment to affordable housing. Thanks also to the entire House and Senate.
ARPA and General Funds Appropriations
| Homeownership Production |
Funds for CommonWealth Builder Program to support production of affordable homeownership opportunities in socially disadvantaged communities |
$100,000,000 |
| Workforce Housing |
Funds for workforce housing to create housing for incomes from 60–120% of the Area Median Income |
$150,000,000 |
| Affordable Housing Trust Fund |
Funds to support production and preservation of rental homes affordable to very low- and extremely low-income households |
$100,000,000 |
| Acquisition |
Funds for Small Properties Acquisition Funding Pilot to acquire of 1–8 unit residential buildings for affordable housing |
$1,000,000 |
| Community Preservation Trust Fund |
Transfer to the state’s Community Preservation Trust Fund |
$20,000,000 |
| Equitable Developer’s Fund |
Reserve for equitable developers’ financing program. Projects must be in a Gateway City, qualified census tract, or community disproportionately impacted by COVID. The developer/sponsor must be controlled by someone who has been socially or economically disadvantaged or disproportionately impacted by COVID. To be administered by MassHousing and/or MassDevelopment |
$50,000,000 |
| Immigration & Refugee Assistance |
Funds to address the needs of immigrants and refugees to streamline access to shelter, housing, legal services, food, health care and additional support services for newly arrived immigrant families and individuals |
$20,000,000 |
| Low Threshold Housing for the Homeless |
Funds for Health and Human Services to establish a regional low threshold housing for homeless or housing unstable individuals with substance use disorder |
$25,000,000 |
Public Housing Reforms
| Filed Sub-Bid Exemption |
Exempts public housing redevelopment projects from ch. 149 filed sub-bid requirements but does not relieve such redevelopment from prevailing wage |
| Long Term Lease & Disposition |
Clarifies that an LHA’s power to undertake the disposition of property includes a disposition by a means other than sale (e.g., long-term lease) |
| Findings for Disposition |
Revises the findings that DHCD must make to approve a sale or disposition of a public housing project to create greater opportunity for redevelopment of existing public housing, while adding a requirement for one-for-one replacement |
| Procuring Redevelopment Partners |
Adds provisions permitting LHAs to procure developer partners for redevelopment projects through a competitive, qualifications-based procurement process that will allow the disposition of property to the selected developer without having to go through a separate land disposition process. |
| Retaining Proceeds |
Allows LHAs to retain the proceeds of the sale of any housing authority land for the purpose of rehabilitating other LHA property |
| Conditions for Redevelopment |
Requires, as a condition of sale or disposition of an existing housing project, that the redevelopment partner enter into a binding land use restriction, requiring compliance with public housing restrictions with respect to replacement units in perpetuity, except in limited circumstances for projects utilizing federal low income housing tax credits. |
Brownfields Redevelopment Fund Changes
- Allows grants to be made to projects not tied to the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act
- Allows eligibility for projects that will receive substantial funds from the municipality even if those financial funds have not yet been received by the project
- Increases max award from $500,000 to $750,000 for projects to conduct environmental cleanup
- Increases max award from $100,000 to $250,000 for projects to conduct environmental site assessments
- Allows grant applicant’s required 20% contribution to the project to be not only cash support but also in-kind services or other non-cash contribution
- Expands list of entities eligible for grants to add non-profit entities in connection with a project that has demonstrable public benefit
- Adds a preference for awards to be made to projects within 1 mile of an environmental justice population
Starter Home Zoning Districts
- Creates Chapter 40Y for Starter Home Zoning Districts & removes these districts from Ch. 40R
- Districts no longer need to be in eligible smart growth locations as defined by 40R
- Districts no longer needs to be at least 3 contiguous acres
- Districts will still be eligible for zoning incentive payments and $3,000 production bonus payments from the 40R Smart Growth Trust Fund
- Districts may be enacted by a simple majority vote
- At least 50% of starter homes in a district must contain 3+ bedrooms and districts may not impose any age or other occupancy restrictions
- For any proposed development of 12+ starter homes, at least 10% of starter homes must be affordable for households at or below 110% AMI
Local Projects
-
$10 million for redevelopment of Mary Ellen McCormack Public Housing Community in Boston
-
$100,000 for CHAPA to support programming to eradicate racial discrimination in housing
by iwd Tina | Nov 3, 2022 | Housing News
We are pleased to announce that CHAPA is currently seeking additional communities on a rolling basis for our MEI Lite Program, a lighter touch program of our Municipal Engagement Initiative, that will help to set communities up for coalition building efforts on their own. Municipal governments and community organizations throughout the Commonwealth are encouraged to submit an application.
Applicants must submit an electronic copy of the application to Dana LeWinter, Director of Municipal Engagement, at dlewinter@chapa.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and may be prioritized based on when they are received or community fit.
To learn more about the eligibility criteria, go to https://www.chapa.org/about/programs/municipal-engagement-initiative
by iwd Tina | Oct 21, 2022 | Housing News
On October 21, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) posted revisions to the MBTA Zoning Guidelines regarding inclusionary zoning requirements.
According to a memo from DHCD, the Guidelines released in August 2022 include a section describing when an inclusionary zoning requirement would be consistent with the law’s requirement that there be a zoning district in which multi-family housing is allowed as of right. In response to feedback from municipal leaders in several MBTA communities, DHCD made limited revisions to the Guidelines to address the circumstances in which an inclusionary zoning requirement will be deemed in compliance with the law. Specifically, the revisions:
- Modify the definition of “affordable unit” to eliminate the requirement that affordable units be eligible for listing on the Subsidized Housing Inventory. This modification gives communities the option to require a percentage of “workforce housing” units occupied by households earning more than 80% of area median income (AMI).
- Allow communities to set income limits for affordable units below 80% AMI, provided that a community demonstrates that a reasonable variety of multi-family housing types can be feasibly developed at the proposed affordability levels.
- Allow a community to require that more than 10% of the units in a project be affordable units (but not more than 20%), provided that the community demonstrates that a reasonable variety of multi-family housing types can be feasibly developed at the higher percentage. The demonstration of economic feasibility is now required for all inclusionary zoning requirements above the permitted 10% threshold, including those that pre-date the Guidelines.
- Create an exception to the 20% cap on affordable units. The new exception applies only to previously approved and adopted 40R “smart growth” zoning districts. A community may amend an existing 40R district to comply with the Guidelines and retain an existing 25% affordable unit requirement.
According to DHCD, these revisions are intended to provide greater flexibility to MBTA communities committed to increasing multi-family housing production while meeting a local need for income-restricted units. DHCD does not anticipate making further revisions to the Guidelines.
by iwd Tina | Oct 20, 2022 | Housing News
On October 20, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced that the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) will begin covering last month’s rent starting on November 1, 2022.
In December 2021, DHCD began the new AHVP security deposit program, which paid for security deposit and first month’s rent for AHVP voucher holders to help mitigate the upfront leasing costs that often prevented program participants from renting a home with their voucher. Since the security deposit program begin in January 2022, leasing success rates for voucher holders have increased by 12% — this means 76 households with disabilities that have moved into a new home because of the security deposit program.
Given current program resources and the continued need for AHVP voucher holders to secure housing, DHCD is now making last month’s rent available through the AHVP security deposit program as well. DHCD anticipates that covering last month’s rent, in addition to the security deposit and first month’s rent, will further increase the success rate of voucher holders finding affordable homes.
