Beyond Housing Choice
Supporting the Healey-Driscoll team
MHP has long been a leader on state housing policy and played an instrumental role in Governor Baker’s Housing Choice initiative and the new multifamily zoning requirements for MBTA communities that became law in 2021.
Now we are taking those accomplishments a step further and working closely with the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the state’s new Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities, Ed Augustus, to help move the needle on housing supply and affordability.
Massachusetts is a national leader in providing affordable housing, yet we are facing new housing challenges that are both daunting and unprecedented. There are not nearly enough public resources to close the gap between incomes and housing costs or to build enough housing that low- and moderate-income households can afford.
Additional funding for affordable housing is critically needed and Governor Healey has taken a major step with the creation of the HousingWorks program and a major expansion of state capital investment on housing. Yet not all housing challenges are money related. The times also demand that we think outside the box and attack the housing problem on multiple fronts. In that spirit, MHP is encouraging legislative action on several policy initiatives in 2023:
Eliminating local barriers to new housing development by allowing accessory dwelling units as-of-right, prohibiting off-street parking requirements, and requiring state approval for all local septic regulations.
Aligning infrastructure financing and regulation to support new housing by providing a “middle tier” of wastewater regulations for moderate-scale multifamily development and better funding mechanisms for wastewater systems near transit and downtowns.
Integrating state development policy by restoring an Office of State Planning and better coordinating development policies and approvals across state government.
Creating a transit backbone for future housing and job growth by aligning our transportation planning and investment with the Commonwealth’s long-term housing and carbon reduction goals.
Modernizing construction practices to reduce costs by prioritizing state funding for developments that utilize cost saving techniques like LEAN design/build and off-site construction.
Stopping frivolous legal appeals that delay or obstruct new housing by establishing a technical review panel and a responsibility to pay prevailing parties’ attorney’s fees patterned after the state law that governs medical malpractice claims.
Providing fairer access to affordable homes by expanding the existing Housing Navigator platform to create a universal online application for every affordable housing unit in the Commonwealth.
Finding better ways to close the gap between incomes and housing costs through a full-scale pilot program that compares the effectiveness of housing vouchers with income-based supports such as a guaranteed basic income or expansion of the state earned income tax credit.
MHP is poised to support the Healey-Driscoll agenda, which has already resulted in the creation of a new housing secretariat.