Romney pushes grants for affordable housing
By Steve LeBlanc / Associated Press

BOSTON -- As Massachusetts struggles to provide more affordable housing, Gov. Mitt Romney is working on a plan that would send a stern message to cities and towns: build more multifamily homes or risk being put at the bottom of the list for state grant money.

Early next year, Romney plans to unveil an initiative calling for the doubling of new housing starts over the next three years, in part by using state grants to pressure communities to increase housing -- particularly multifamily housing close to town centers and public transportation.

"If a particular community is looking for us to do an off-ramp or to do a T-stop or to improve a highway, we're going to ask 'What are you doing in terms of multifamily housing? Will there be housing associated with this project? How much?'" Romney said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Good idea. Hey Wellesley, you want some money to pave some roads? How many affordable units have been built there in the past year? None? Pave your own damn roads then.

More

Romney pushes grants for affordable housing

By Steve LeBlanc / Associated Press
Thursday, December 18, 2003

BOSTON -- As Massachusetts struggles to provide more affordable housing, Gov. Mitt Romney is working on a plan that would send a stern message to cities and towns: build more multifamily homes or risk being put at the bottom of the list for state grant money.

Early next year, Romney plans to unveil an initiative calling for the doubling of new housing starts over the next three years, in part by using state grants to pressure communities to increase housing -- particularly multifamily housing close to town centers and public transportation.

"If a particular community is looking for us to do an off-ramp or to do a T-stop or to improve a highway, we're going to ask 'What are you doing in terms of multifamily housing? Will there be housing associated with this project? How much?'" Romney said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"If there's not housing, we're not going to find that floating to the top of our list of projects to do," he said. "We're going to look at every dollar we spend, where there's discretion, to spend it where we can encourage the development of housing."

Some of those steps can be taken without legislative approval, according to Romney, who said they're designed to encourage communities to build housing rather than punish them for failing to do so.

Not every community will see it that way, according to Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

"What could look from the outside as a positive incentive could feel much more like a penalty-based approach if it's linked to (construction) work that absolutely has to get done," Beckwith said.

Affordable-housing advocates praised Romney's focus on housing, but said incentives aren't enough. Instead, said Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, the state has to increase spending to create new housing and protect existing affordable housing units.

"It's going to be nearly impossible to meet his goal of doubling housing construction if state funding for housing continues to be cut," he said.

A spokeswoman for Senate President Robert Travaglini said lawmakers will have to take a look at the plan before commenting, but agree that affordable housing it a top concern.

A study released in September by the Washington-based National Low Income Housing Coalition found Massachusetts the least affordable state in the country for renters.

For those hoping to buy a home, the news isn't much better.

According to the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development, the average cost of a single family home in the greater Boston area is $548,000 compared to about $222,800 nationally.

From 1980 to 2000, Massachusetts rose to the third most expensive state in the nation -- behind Hawaii and California -- in which to buy a home, according to a study by the University of Massachusetts.

The problem is so severe that the number of families sharing a single housing unit has nearly doubled in the past 20 years, according to the UMass study.

Romney said the administration will continue to support the state's main affordable housing law -- known as "40B" -- which allows builders who pledge to include 25 percent affordable housing in their developments to skirt local zoning codes that would otherwise restrict the size, density and location of their projects. A community can block the move by showing that 10 percent of its housing stock is already affordable.

The law has raised the ire of suburban lawmakers who say developers use the law to push through housing projects that would otherwise be banned under local zoning codes.

Some of the law's fiercest critics say they don't oppose Romney trying to link grant money to the creation of new local housing.

"The economy of this state cannot be sustained without the ability of people to afford to rent or purchase housing," said 40B opponent Rep. Frank Hynes, D-Marshfield. "If the governor wants to affirm that in his administration's policy ... I think people will not have a problem with that."

Some of Romney's past housing efforts have met with mixed results.

Earlier this year, Romney floated a plan to siphon $50 million from local aid payments to cities and towns to create a special fund to reward communities that encourage new housing.

Some lawmakers said the bonuses should only apply to affordable housing and could favor fast-growing suburbs at the expense of older communities.

"You can be sure we will be coming back with that (plan) again," Romney said.

posted by prof_booty | 10:37 AM