- Worcester will maintain its housing that is affordable to low and moderate income households, currently estimated at 14%--far above the 10% required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- Worcester will promote housing development that supports a variety of housing types at desginated target areas throughout the the City.
Translation. In the past we have done a great job creating housing for low to moderate income households. In fact such a good job that we are way beyond what the Commonwealth requires, lets slow down and maintain at the current level. On the other hand, we need to promote market, or dare I say housing, promote housing that attract people who make money.
Question: Who can possibly disagree with these two points?
Answer: The people who have made alot of money building these low to moderate income units. To them, holding steady at 14% is not good for their bottom line.
Stay tuned, we are sure to hear the people who stand to lose argue that 14% is not enough that the City of Worcester needs more no low housing. What do you think?
1 comment:
did anone see this? hey Paulie your thoughts... I know where the CBA stands...we would like more market rate projects happenings and have discussed this with her..we agree with the RKG study why did we do that study and not use it?
7:54: Haller is speaking about the city’s housing strategy (city report here). She says she’s concerned that “the city is going in the wrong direction,” pointing to the report. She says Community Development Corporations (CDCs) have done a lot for Worcester, and “that approach has been successful.” She’s concerned that the city is moving away from the CDC model. She wants a chart that shows how much money the city has put into housing development over a certain amount of time (3 years, 5 years, it doesn’t matter). She wants a breakdown of HUD dollars, allocations to private vs. non-profit vs. community housing developers. She says her partner has received funding from the city, but her finances are separate from his. She doesn’t want a list of people, per se, but more like a neighborhood by neighborhood breakdown. She says she thinks community and neighborhood-based development is the most successful.
8:00: She also wants to know how the city figured out that 14% of housing in the city is affordable (the state benchmark s only 10%). She says in her district many (if not most) people need affordable housing, and can’t be homeowners even if they wanted to be.
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