RKG Housing Study

A committee, forgot which one, has a meeting to discuss the Housing Report from RKG.     I plan on speaking and here is what I will be saying.   One of RKG's recomendation concerns affordable housing distribution and that we should partner with other local jurisdictions in the region affordable housing advocates employers and community groups to advocate for a more equitable distribution of affordable housing opportunities in Worcester County.  I agree more with this recommendation. Every city and town in MA is required by state law to have 10% of their housing stock as affordable. According to Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance:

• Worcester 13.60%
• Shrewsbury 6.5%
• Grafton 5.3%
• Millbury 4.4%
• Leicester 4.0%
• Auburn 3.3%
• Holden 3.2%
• W Boylston 2.5%
• Paxton .8%

This begs the question.  If we are over the state minimum, why do we keep building more affordble units?  RKG is correct.    If you are still not convinced how about this report from MassINC  Going for Growth: Promoting Residential Reinvestment in Massachusetts Gateway Cities,   Small part:


With no housing investments designed to support comprehensive neighborhood revitalization projects, Gateway Cities rely heavily on the state’s affordable housing resources. Since 1993, about a fifth of state affordable housing investment has gone to Gateway Cities. These communities often employ affordable housing funds reluctantly because they are the only capital available to address blight.

While affordable housing redevelopment can resolve concerns on a given block, it may further destabilize Gateway City neighborhoods by drawing families away from the existing housing stock. Reliance on affordable housing funds for neighborhood revitalization may further concentrate low-income families in high poverty areas, thwarting efforts to restore healthy demand for housing.

What did people think about this report? Check out Boston Globe Editorial:

In many cases, affordable units can draw stable families into poor neighborhoods. But as the Pioneer Institute pointed out in a separate study, the deed restrictions limiting the income level of buyers can place a long-term freeze on a neighborhood’s prospects. The same policies that keep units affordable in and around Boston can prevent upscale neighborhoods from emerging in Springfield, Holyoke, and Lawrence.

Affordable housing remains a vital need across the Commonwealth, from Boston to Springfield to Pittsfield. But it won’t bring the upper middle class back to gateway cities, and it won’t create enough new customers for the shops and restaurants that give life to Main Street. At this moment, the ability of the gateway cities to serve their current citizens depends on a larger tax base, and there are signs that higher-income people want to come back to city centers. The state owes its gateway cities programs that help them to seize this opportunity now

  The question you need to ask yourself is RKG, MASSINC and the Boston Globe all wrong?