Healey-Driscoll Administration Launches Housing Campaign with Municipal Leaders to Highlight Local Solutions to High Housing Costs
Administration applauds communities working to increase the
supply of housing across the state, emphasizes need for collaboration
LYNN – Today, Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor
Kim Driscoll held the first event of their Housing Campaign by standing with
municipal leaders from across the state to highlight the ways in which
increasing housing production will help municipalities meet the needs of their
residents. Over the next few weeks, the administration will host events across
the state to call attention to the urgent need to lower housing costs across
Massachusetts and the ways in which the high cost of housing impacts everyday
life.
“We wanted to hold the inaugural event of our Housing
Campaign with municipal leaders because we know that cities and towns are where
the rubber hits the road when it comes to our statewide housing shortage,” said
Governor Maura Healey. “High housing costs impact local residents, local
economies, and local governments – and many of the most impactful solutions are
going to be local solutions. It was wonderful to connect with municipal leaders
to discuss how the state can be a partner in their efforts to address their
housing challenges and improve quality of life in their communities.”
Held at the Lynn Housing Authority, the Governor and
Lieutenant Governor met with 17 municipal leaders from around the state. The
administration and local elected leaders discussed the administration’s housing
strategy, including the MBTA Communities law, the Affordable Homes Act, the
HousingWorks program and an aging public housing stock.
"As a former municipal leader, I understand the give
and take our communities are balancing to create more housing,” said Lieutenant
Governor Driscoll. “That’s why tools like the MBTA Communities law, the local
option transfer fee and allowing accessory dwelling units are important pieces
of the puzzle. There is not a single silver bullet, but we can give our towns
the tools they need to increase housing production. Many communities are
already embracing these solutions – including more than 40 that have already
approved MBTA Communities zoning.”
The discussion, moderated by Housing and Livable Communities
Secretary Ed Augustus, focused on the various tools and strategies that would
be most effective in creating more housing supply across the state in order to
meet the demand.
Many of those tools are included in Governor Healey’s
Affordable Homes Act, including allowing accessory dwelling units as of right
throughout the state with the ability for communities to set some reasonable
restrictions and providing the local option of adopting a real estate
transaction fee of 0.5 percent to 2 percent on the portion of a property sale
over $1 million to fund affordable housing developments.
Another critical tool is the MBTA Communities Law, which
requires certain municipalities to create multi-family zoning districts to
increase housing production near public transportation and lower costs. As of
today, 45 communities have passed multi-family zoning intended to comply with
the law.
"The foundation of the Healey-Driscoll administration’s
housing strategy is built on working with communities and providing them with
tools to build the housing they need,” said Secretary Ed Augustus. “These are
tough challenges for communities to solve on their own, but by working
collectively and having these productive conversations we can solve them
together.”
The next stop of the Housing Campaign will be on Tuesday,
May 7, to discuss the ways in which veterans are impacted by the high cost of
housing and the administration’s End Veteran Homelessness campaign. Veterans
Services Secretary Dr. Jon Santiago and Secretary Augustus will visit Brighton
Marine, an affordable housing development for veterans, at 77 Warren St
Brighton, MA 02135 at 1:30 pm.
On Wednesday, May 8, Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor
Driscoll will join business leaders in Worcester for a roundtable discussion
about how building more housing and lowering costs is essential for the
economic growth, competitiveness and innovation of communities across the
state.
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