Government

Council Subcommittee Looking at Successful Examples of Affordable Housing

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The Town Council Committee on Human Services will hold its sixth meeting on the topic of affordable housing on Wednesday, November 7 at 7:15 p.m.

The theme of this meeting is “Solutions/Case Examples.” The meeting will take place in the Lower Hearing Room on the ground floor of Town Hall. The guests presenting at the meeting include:

Kelly Donato, Assistant Housing Director, at the City of Somerville; Cliff Cook, member of the Watertown Housing Partnership; State Senator Will Brownsberger; and Rachel Heller, Executive Director of the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association. For questions or more information contact call 781-644-3525 or email
councilorpalomba@gmail.com

Government

Affordable Housing in Watertown On the Agenda for Council Subcommittee

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The Town Council’s Committee on Human Services provided the following announcement:
The Town Council’s Committee on Human Services will continue its discussion of affordable housing at its meeting this Thursday, October 4, at 7:15 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers on the second floor of Town Hall. 
The theme for this meeting is “Affordable Housing Development” and will include presentations by Jennifer Van Campen, Executive Director of MetroWest Collaborative Development, State Representative Michael Connolly, and Steve Magoon, Watertown’s Assistant Town Manager and Director of the Department of Community Development and Planning. Town Councilor Tony Palomba chairs the Committee on Human Services. Councilor Caroline Bays is the Committee’s Vice –Chair, and Councilor Susan Falkoff is the Committee’s Secretary

Government

Town Council Subcommittee Holding Discussion on Affordable Housing

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The following was provided by Town Councilor Tony Palomba, chair of the Council’s Committee on Human Services:
The Town Council’s Committee on Human Services continues its discussion of affordable housing in Watertown with a meeting on Thursday, Sept. 6 at 7:15 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers.The theme of the meeting is “Statewide and Regional Organizations and Resources”.  The Committee will hear from two guests -Sue Connelly of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership and Karina Milchman of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. The Committee will be holding additional meetings on the topic of affordable housing in October and November.  The schedule is listed here. 10/4           Affordable Housing Development       

Jennifer Van Campen, MetroWest Collaborative Development

Representative Michael Connolly, Real Estate Transfer Fee

Steve Magoon, Assistant Town Manager and Director DCDP

11/7           Solutions/Case Examples    

Kelly Donato, Assistant Housing Director, Somerville

Cliff Cook, Watertown Housing Partnership

Rachel Heller, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association

Government

Council Subcommittee to Discuss Affordable Housing This Week

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The following announcement was sent out by the Human Resources Committee:
The Town Council’s Committee on Human Resources continues its discussion of affordable housing in Watertown with a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 2 at 7:15 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers.  The theme of the meeting is Zoning and Affordable Housing.  The Committee will hear from Steve Magoon, Assistant Town Manager and Director of Community Development and Planning and special guest, Larry Fields from the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance. 
The Committee will be holding additional meetings on the topic of affordable housing in September, October, and November.  The schedule is listed here. Sept. 6         Statewide and Regional Organizations and Resources

Sue Connelly, Massachusetts Housing Partnership

Karina Milchman, Massachusetts Area Planning Council

State Legislator, Massachusetts Housing Bond Bill (TBD)

 

Oct. 4           Affordable Housing Development       

Jennifer Van Campen, MetroWest Collaborative Development

Representative Michael Connolly, Real Estate Transfer Fee

Steve Magoon, Assistant Town Manager and Director DCDP

 

Nov.

Around Town

Council Subcommittee Exploring Ways to Expand Affordable Housing in Watertown

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The Town Council’s Human Services Committee will hold a series of meetings looking at ways to increase the amount of affordable housing in Watertown. 

The town has not met the state’s goal of 10 percent of the housing units in town being available to rent or buy at an affordable rate. The committee will invite in experts in the area of affordable housing to help them get an idea of where Watertown stands, strategies used by other communities, and what would work in town. The committee will hold meetings at 7:15 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month each month in Town Hall, besides July, thorough the end of the year, said Councilor Tony Palomba, chair of the Human Services Committee. During the first meeting in May the committee heard from Chair of the Watertown Housing Partnership Fred Reynolds about the current state of affordable housing. He said at the last count Watertown was at about 6.9 percent affordable housing.

Development

Town Council Increases Requirement for Affordable Housing in New Projects

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Developers will be required to provide more affordable housing in most residential projects built in Watertown after the Town Council’s vote on Tuesday night. The Council approved changes to the Town’s Inclusionary Zoning Requirements, but there were questions about who would qualify to live in the affordable units. Previously the requirement was 12.5 percent of the units for most areas of town, but that amount was increased for projects of 20 units or more. The requirement for projects with 6-19 unit projects will remain at 12.5 percent. Also, the income requirements change for the projects that would have to provide 15 percent affordable units. For projects of 20 or more units, 10 percent of units in a rental project (or 2/3 of the affordable units) will be for people who meet the 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) standard, and 5 percent of the units are for those meeting the 65 percent of the AMI threshold, which would be $63,800 for a family of four, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Affordable Housing

LETTER: Why Question 5 Offers Hope for Those Who Need It Most

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To the Editor:

On Nov. 8, Watertown voters will have a chance to approve the Community Preservation Act, which would provide funding for three kinds of projects in town: historic preservation, expanding and improving open space and recreational facilities, and providing affordable housing. These projects would benefit ALL residents of the community, and could be proposed by anyone. We strongly support approval of the CPA, both because we believe that it will enhance the quality of life in our town in many substantive ways, and also for a more personal reason: we have close friends who are homeless. They are a family of seven.

Affordable Housing

Planning Board Supports Increasing Affordable Housing Requirements for New Developments

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The Planning Board voted to support a zoning change that would require developers building medium and large housing projects in Watertown to include more affordable housing. 

Last Thursday, the Planning Board discussed the zoning amendment and voted unanimously to recommend that the Town Council adopt the changes. The proposal was brought to the Town Council by the Watertown Housing Partnership. It was considered first by the Economic Development and Planning Subcommittee and then by the full Council, before being sent to the Planning Board to sign off on it, said Andrea Adams, senior planner in the Watertown Community Development and Planning Department. The town has a requirement that projects of 6 more units have 12.5 percent of units be rented or sold at an affordable rate. When the Town Council approved the Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD) for the section of east Arsenal Street earlier this year, the affordable housing requirement was increased to 15 percent for that area, Adams said.