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
by iwd Tina | Dec 6, 2021 | Housing News
CHAPA sent the following letter to Governor Baker with recommendations to sign the ARPA spending bill sent to him by the Legislature.
December 6, 2021
Governor Charlie Baker
Massachusetts State House
24 Beacon St., Room 280
Boston, MA 02133
RE: CHAPA ARPA Spending Bill Recommendations for Affordable Housing, Homeownership, Supportive Housing, Public Housing, and Housing Rehabilitation
Dear Governor Baker,
On behalf of Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), we write to thank the administration for prioritizing affordable housing in its original proposal for the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fiscal recovery funds. CHAPA understands that the state legislature has sent its own proposal for your review and signature that includes ~$600 million in affordable housing investments.
As we continue to recover from the pandemic, the ARPA fiscal recovery dollars represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address historical housing discrimination and inequities, create more climate resilient communities, and build a future where everyone can thrive.
Housing resources also improve our overall health, strengthen our economy, protect the environment, and build wealth for everyone. Investing in housing affordability means our schools will have teachers, hospitals will have nurses, businesses will have workers, and young families can build a future.
As such, CHAPA requests that you sign An Act Relative to Immediate COVID-19 Recovery Needs (H.4269) as soon as possible, so we may begin to implement the allocated investments in permanent affordable housing solutions for production and preservation, homeownership, supportive housing, public housing, and housing rehabilitation.
Below are an analysis of the housing provisions of the bill supported by CHAPA that will provide strong support for these critical housing resources to secure a healthy future for all.
Affordable Rental Production & Preservation (1599-2022)
- Conference spending bill provides a $115 million appropriation for production and preservation
- Prioritizes projects with clean energy and sustainability initiatives and directs funds to be spent in a way that promotes geographic equity
- Authorizes the preservation funds to be used for acquisition of naturally occurring and non-subsidized housing
CHAPA supports allocating ARPA funding for affordable rental production and preservation. We ask that you sign into law the appropriation of $115 million to enable the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Mass Housing, and the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) to build and preserve more affordable rental housing to meet the Commonwealth’s production goals. This funding increase can help to create thousands of homes that are affordable and accessible to our most disproportionately impacted communities. There are currently 175 projects for affordable rental homes waiting for funding and these funds can immediately start to be distributed through our existing programs in order to allow for the projects to be built more quickly.
We also request that you keep the conference language that prioritizes clean energy projects and promotes geographic equity. This language can ensure that the new housing stock we build is energy efficient and climate resilient in order to meet our green energy goals and protect our families from severe weather disasters. This language also ensures that these funds are equitably distributed to all of our communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finally, we request that you keep the conference language that allows for the “acquisition of existing, occupied or unoccupied, multifamily rental housing that is not currently subject to affordability restrictions at the municipal or state level.” This language can help to support the acquisition of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) with the goal of ensuring its long-term availability as high quality, affordable homes for people of modest means. Allowing funding for NOAH acquisition will allow Massachusetts to stop eviction and displacement, secure properties for long-term affordability, and facilitate quick action by municipalities or non-profits to enable them to compete for these properties with cash-ready speculators.
Homeownership Production (1599-2021)
- Conference spending bill provides a $115 million appropriation for homeownership production
- Limits income eligibility and creates preferences for projects that meet certain income levels, achieve our clean energy goals, or are created using zoning changes in accordance with Housing Choice.
CHAPA supports allocating ARPA funding for new homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income households through the CommonWealth Builder program. CHAPA asks that you sign into law the appropriation of $115 million for the CommonWealth Builder program provided in the Conference spending bill. These funds will help build over a thousand new homes affordable to first-time homebuyers. MassHousing can immediately use this increase in funding to build both single-family homes and condominiums in our disproportionately impacted communities and qualified census tracts.
CHAPA also asks that you keep the Conference language that limits income eligibility to 70-120% of Area Median Income (AMI) and provides preferences for projects at 70% AMI, projects that include clean energy and sustainability initiatives, and projects in communities that have made zoning changes in accordance with Housing Choice. These preferences will allow us to target these new homeownership opportunities to low- and moderate-income households. It will also allow us to meet both our climate and housing production goals while awarding communities that change exclusionary zoning laws.
Homeownership Assistance (1599-2020)
- Conference spending bill provides a $65 million appropriation for homeownership assistance
CHAPA supports allocating ARPA funding for homebuyers to assist them in buying their first home. CHAPA asks that you sign into the law the appropriation of $65 million in the Conference spending bill. This allocation would allow for Massachusetts to provide down payment assistance through MassHousing’s existing programs and scale up existing mortgage interest subsidy programs, including One Mortgage, ONE+ Boston, MassHousing Mortgages, and STASH matched-savings program.
Supportive Housing (1599-2023)
- Conference spending bill provides a $150 million appropriation for supportive housing production
- Prioritizes funding for our most vulnerable populations and disproportionately impacted communities
- Allows for funds to be used for acquisition of hotels and motels for supportive housing
- Provides $15 million of total supportive housing allocation to Massachusetts Alliance for Supportive Housing (MASH) to create supportive housing
- Provides $50 million of total supportive housing allocation to DHCD, in consultation with MASH, to create supportive housing for persons experiencing chronic and long-term homelessness
CHAPA supports allocating ARPA funding for housing with supportive services for our most vulnerable individuals and families. CHAPA asks that you sign into law the appropriation of $150 million in the conference spending bill. This allocation would allow for the production of thousands of healthy and safe homes for some of our most vulnerable households. These resources can be immediately distributed through existing programs to cover the costs for the production of housing with supportive services and the acquisition of hotels, motels, nursing homes, and other forms of temporary housing for the purpose of conversion to permanent supportive housing.
CHAPA respectfully asks that you keep the conference language that prioritizes our most disproportionately impacted communities and includes all the priority populations named in the conference bill. These priority populations include: individuals and families who may be classified as chronically homeless; individuals and families with behavioral health needs or substance addiction needs; survivors of domestic violence; 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; seniors and veterans. This will allow for more supportive housing projects to be funded more quickly across the Commonwealth and ensure that funds are equitably distributed across all of our most disproportionately impacted communities.
CHAPA also asks that you support the specific earmarks of the supportive housing allocation to DHCD and MASH and the conference language that requires DHCD to consult with MASH. Collaboration between DHCD and MASH will help us to to create evidence-based and evidence-informed best practices for creating and expanding permanent supportive housing for the populations prioritized in this line item. This will ensure coordination of these public resources by DHCD with best practices for creating supportive housing.
Public Housing (1599-2024)
- Conference spending bill provides a $150 million appropriation for public housing
- Prioritizes projects in disproportionately impacted communities
- Directs funds to be distributed to achieve geographic equity
- Allows grants to require matching funds from the municipality
CHAPA supports ARPA funding for preserving our aging public housing stock and protecting its residents. CHAPA asks that you sign into law the $150 million appropriation in the conference spending bill. This appropriation will allow our public housing agencies to begin to address the $3 billion of deferred capital repairs and maintenance needs. These funds will help install safer fire alarm systems, increase accessibility, fix leaky plumbing, improve energy efficiency, complete climate resiliency and mitigation projects, and close budget shortfalls caused by increased costs due to the pandemic.
We also request that you keep the conference language that prioritizes projects in disproportionately impacted communities and promotes geographic equity. This language can ensure that public housing dollars are equitably distributed to all of our communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Green Energy Retrofitting & Housing Rehabilitation (1599-2035)
- Conference spending bill provides a $6.5 million appropriation for a pilot program to retrofit moderate to low-income housing with green technologies
- Requires retrofit projects to have 10 or more units
CHAPA supports ARPA funding for green energy retrofitting and housing rehabilitation. CHAPA asks that you sign into law this $6.5 million appropriation in the conference spending bill, which will create a pilot program administered by the Department 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, and renewable technologies. Massachusetts’ aging housing stock does not meet modern energy efficiency standards and are not climate resilient to withstand extreme weather conditions. This investment for green energy retrofitting will improve the safety of families currently living in these older homes while also allowing for our most disproportionately residents to live in more climate-resilient communities in the future.
Conclusion
We applaud 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. All these investments will help thousands of residents find an affordable home, remain stably housed, and begin to close the racial homeownership gap.
To fully capitalize on the opportunity presented by this once-in-a-generation investment from the federal government, we ask that you sign the legislature’s ARPA spending plan into law as soon as possible. We must ensure that we begin to implement these new investments now to ensure we can adequately address the impacts of the pandemic and build a future where everyone can thrive.
Thank you for your consideration and for your leadership in helping everyone in Massachusetts have a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home.
Sincerely,
Rachel Heller
Chief Executive Officer
