The development of more affordable housing is a win-win for everyone in our community. By investing in affordable housing, Waltham can ensure that families are not displaced by rapidly rising rents and property values, while existing homeowners can continue to see growth of their investment in their property. The best way for Waltham to take control of its own future is also to produce enough affordable housing to comply with MGL 40B. If Waltham can make just ten percent of its housing stock affordable, then Waltham, not the state, can control its own development. Developers would no longer be entitled to build more densely packed apartment complexes than the people of Waltham want or need. Right now, because Waltham has not met the ten percent threshold, if a developer agrees to a certain number of affordable units the law allows that developer to bypass Waltham’s permitting and zoning process and the City is not able to control its own growth.
There are a number of creative ways that Waltham can develop more affordable housing stock without changing the character of its existing neighborhoods, imposing an undue tax burden, or isolating affordable housing to specific area of the City, all of which should be avoided. The Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund and the Community Preservation Committee have sums of money available for this purpose that could be used to create long-term affordable housing assets in the City. In addition, because large portions of the Fernald property were purchased with Community Preservation Act funds, the property must be used for affordable housing, open space, or historical preservation. Adaptive reuse of many of those buildings could include preservation of the historic exterior while creating a reasonable number affordable housing units.
When people think of affordable housing, they tend to think of housing projects, but there are other ways to create affordable housing that also can help mitigate the displacement of residents and do not require the City to build a housing project or act as a landlord. A community land trust is one way Waltham can create permanent affordable housing stock with a one-time City investment, promote low-income home ownership, ensure affordable housing is distributed more equitably in the community, and meet the requirements of 40B all at the same time. It also empowers residents through participation in the trust organization, enhances local control over housing resources, and makes quality housing available to low-income families.
A public/private partnership with a non-profit community land trust allows for the City to use Community Preservation Act funds for the purchase and rehabilitation of blighted, foreclosed, or condemned properties. Often rehabilitation is a community-based effort with nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity. These homes can then be sold to a low-income buyer, while the land (usually the most expensive part of buying a home in Massachusetts) is transferred to a community land trust which grants a long –term lease (99+ years) of the underlying land to the homeowner. The homeowner can renovate or improve the property, pass it on to his or her children, or sell it to another low-income buyer, creating a sense of long-term investment in the property and neighborhood. The community land trust also has a stake in making sure that the property is well maintained and can force the homeowner to make certain repairs, as well as intervening in the event of a potential foreclosure.
The creation of more affordable housing also helps stabilize the housing stock in the community. Just one foreclosed home can negatively impact the property values in an entire neighborhood. More affordable units, especially if they are owner-occupied, means fewer foreclosures and abandoned properties in the event of a recession or other economic downturn like we saw in 2008. Many cities and towns throughout Massachusetts, including Amherst, Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester, have taken advantage of community land trusts to create permanent affordable housing with great success. Waltham can do the same.