On ballot questions: No, no and no (Boston Examiner, August 26)
Online conservative columnist backs the affordable housing law
The Conservative Columnist for Boston’s Examiner, Walter Bird Jr. urges voters to vote “no, no, and no” on the November ballot questions. Bird says that the affordable housing law helps cut down on red tape by letting municipal Zoning Boards of Appeals hold public hearings on proposed developments. Without the law, developers would have to file separate permits with different local agencies and officials. “Given there are so many communities in need of affordable housing, especially for seniors, there need not be any more roadblocks put in place,” Bird writes
Two Arlington organizations have affordable housing projects in the works (Arlington Advocate, August 20)
Affordable housing law brings new developments to Arlington
Two new affordable housing developments are in the works in Arlington, reports the Arlington Advocate. The developments include homes on Medford Street and an apartment complex on Massachusetts Avenue. David Levy, director of the Housing Corporation of Arlington, said the units will create homes for a range of people, including families. Levy said the affordable housing law is essential to creating developments like this. “It’s a critical law in Massachusetts if we’re going to continue to create affordable housing,” he said.
Tom & Todd's Face Off (WRKO, August 18)
Radio host Tom Finneran supports the affordable housing law
On Tom & Todd’s Face Off, WRKO’s Tom Finneran urged voters to vote “no” on Question 2, calling the attempt to repeal the affordable housing law “extreme.” Finneran debated the ballot questions with State Representative Bradley Jones, filling in for Todd Feinburg. Jones also said he does not support repealing the affordable housing law. Finneran said the law is crucial to keeping young working professionals in Massachusetts. “So many of our young people become discouraged by the cost of housing, they move away,” Finneran said. “That's our economic future, that's our life blood.”
Keep Affordable Housing Law Intact (Concord Patch, August 17)
Attempt to repeal affordable housing law is dangerous, reckless.
Campaign Spokesperson Francy Ronayne spoke to the Concord Patch about the Vote “No” on Question 2 Campaign and the affordable housing law. Ronayne notes that more than 400 individuals and organizations have joined the Coalition to Protect the Affordable Housing Law, and that the effort is completely non-partisan. All three major candidates for governor have urged voters to vote “no” on Question 2 to protect affordable housing in Massachusettes. “It doesn't matter what party you belong to, no one wants to hurt seniors and working families,” she said.
Mass voters should let Chapter 40B stay (Providence Business News, August 16)
Repealing the affordable housing law would be devastating to construction industry
The affordable housing law makes it possible for working class families to live in a state with some of the nation’s most expensive real estate, editorializes the Providence Business News. The publication urged Massachusetts voters to vote “no” on Question 2 this November. The law has been essential to reviving the construction industry, creating jobs that will lost if it is repealed, writes the paper. “In today’s economy, it would be insanity to further hobble the home construction industry,” it writes.
Friends And Enemies Of 40B Ready For Fight (Worcester Business Journal, August 16)
Vote “No” on Question 2 Campaign gears up for Fall election
The Vote “No” on Question 2 Campaign is gathering steam in anticipation of the November election, writes the Worcester Business Journal. The article outlines the issues at stake in the election. The article notes the long list of supporters behind the affordable housing law, including all three major candidates for governor. “Businesses of all sizes need the affordable housing law so employees can afford to live here,” said campaign spokesperson Francy Ronayne.
Editorial Painted 40B All Wrong (Worcester Business Journal, August 16)
Massachusetts businesses need the affordable housing law
Tripp Jones, chairman of the Vote “no” on Question 2 Campaign, writes in the Worcester Business Journal that the affordable housing law is essential to keeping our state economy on track. Jones notes that 80 percent of the affordable housing outside the major cities in the last decade has been built with the help of the affordable housing law. “ While we support and have supported efforts to improve on this already effective law, that is not what this ballot question seeks to do,” writes Jones. “It would simply throw out the law without anything to replace it.”
Home-buying in Falmouth no easy task (Falmouth Bulletin, August 12)
More affordable housing needed in Falmouth
For some, buying a home in Falmouth is a far-reaching goal, reports the Falmouth Bulletin. While the median selling point for homes in the area increases, median income isn’t catching up. Residents central to the community are affected, said Edward Schmuhl, chairman of the Affordable Housing Committee. “We’re talking about teachers, town employees and others with whom we interact every day,” he said.
Rentals harder to find, afford (Boston Globe, August 10)
Fewer apartment vacancies cause rents to rise in Bay State
Apartment vacancies are down and rents are up in Massachusetts for the first time since the beginning of the recession, reports the Boston Globe. An increase in foreclosures has forced more residents into the rental market, making apartments harder to find - and afford - when many families are struggling with lost jobs, lost homes, and pay cuts. Reginald Fuller is one Massachusetts resident who will be forced out of his apartment with his family. Fuller has recieved eviction notices after he couldn't pay the $150 increase in his rent. “It makes me kind of feel like I let my family down,’’ said Fuller, 53. “I’m about to join the ranks of the homeless, and that’s a place I’ve never been.’’
Addressing a housing shortage (Framingham Tab, August 6)
New affordable housing project provides home for seniors
The Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly will complete a $42 million independent senior living community in Framingham next year. The 151,000-square-foot project, developed using the affordable housing law, will feature a mix of 150 market-rate and affordable apartments. The project has elicited praise from members of the community who say there is not enough affordable housing for the elderly in Framingham. "Certainly we hear all the time that there is a need for senior housing,'' said Tom Farmer, spokesman for MassHousing.
More families, clean-and-sober individuals finding themselves at risk of homelessness (South Coast News, August 8)
More working families finding themselves in need of affordable housing
Homelessness in Massachusetts is on the rise, according to the South Coast News, and is increasingly affecting working families. More than 700 families are living in hotels and motels because the state’s family shelters have been filled to capacity. Many of those recently homeless have college educations and are facing living without a home for the first time. "The story around homelessness right now is families," said Christina Connelly, community development coordinator for the City of New Bedford.
Rise In Foreclosures Burdens States, Economy (NPR, August 4)
Foreclosures on the rise in Massachusetts
NPR’s All Things Considered examines the deepening foreclosure crisis. The segment particularly focuses on Massachusetts, where foreclosures are up and unemployment numbers refuse to budge, making affordable housing more important than ever. "People are losing their jobs or they're underemployed," said Aaron Gornstein, executive director of Citizens' Housing and Planning Association. "We have a lot of people in the construction trades who are unemployed - close to 40 percent. So those people are falling behind on their mortgages and can't keep up, and as a result, they are going into foreclosure."
Letter: Don't scapegoat housing's effective Chapter 40B (Gloucester Times, July 28)
Law makes building essential new housing possible
A former member of a local Zoning Board of Appeals writes that the affordable housing law has been essential to creating affordable housing in Massachusetts. Peter J. Fuerbach points out that the zoning laws of many municipalities make it very difficult to construct new housing. “It is far too easy for land use boards to succumb to neighborhood opponents, natural resistance to change, or other professed reasons to deny new homes”
Battle heats up for future of 40B (Lowell Sun, July 28)
Vote “no” on Question 2 campaign plans strategy
The Lowell Sun reports on the efforts by the Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law to defeat Question 2 this November. Aaron Gornstein, director of the nonprofit Citizens Housing and Planning Agency (CHAPA), told the paper that the law has created new units of housing in both cities and suburbs that have benefited thousands of families. "The fact is, there are thousands of working families, many who we see working in our cities and towns every day, but cannot afford the state's high rents and home prices," Gornstein said. "The law was formed to help create affordable housing and it has.”
No Time To Kill 40B (Banker & Tradesman, July 19)
Affordable housing development is key to the Commonwealth's economic recovery
Banker & Tradesman comes out strongly in favor of protecting the affordable housing law. The paper writes in an editorial that the law has been instrumental in creating affordable housing across Massachusetts and is key to the state’s economic recovery. Repealing the affordable housing law at a time when construction projects already struggle for financing “couldn’t be worse,” it writes.
Recovery In Bay State Building Already Has Three Strikes (Banker & Tradesman, July 19)
The affordable housing law is essential to new construction
Banker and Tradesman columnist Scott Van Voorhis writes, “Greater Boston is one of the hardest places in the country to build anything, especially new housing.” Van Voorhis writes that repealing the affordable housing law would only make it more difficult to build new construction projects in Massachusetts. “Frankly, it’s hard to figure out sometimes exactly what’s driving 40B opponents,” he writes. “Too many irksome schoolchildren moving to town, renters getting a chance to live the suburban lifestyle or just hatred for the much-maligned “greedy developer.”
The No-Growth Ballot Question (Boston Business Journal, July 16)
Massachusetts needs the affordable housing law
The Boston Business Journal writes a strong editorial in favor of the affordable housing law. The Journal credits the law as being the “one mechanism” to building 80 percent of the affordable housing in the last ten years. “Repealing Chapter 40B is one of the worst ideas to come along in a while, for it has been a vital tool in a state that has regularly lagged the nation in new housing starts,” it writes.
On the Ballot: Repeal Affordable Housing Law (WCVB-TV, July 16)
Chairman Tripp Jones argues against a repeal
Tripp Jones, Chairman of the Committee to Protect the Affordable Housing Law, argues on Channel 5 against repeal, saying it provides much needed housing for seniors and working families. "You're talking to somebody who lives in a community where there's a development going up right now. I know very well what's happening in my community. We need that housing."
Seniors losing an ally (Boston Globe, July 13, 2010)
Ellen Feingold has worked to make affordable housing for seniors a priority
On Aug. 13, Treasurer of the Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law Ellen Feingold, will retire as president of Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly, a 45-year-old nonprofit that provides affordable housing for low-income seniors. In this feature story, Feingold says it is part of the nonprofit’s mission “to make it possible for people to live out their lives here’’ with dignity and respect. The article reflects that affordable senior housing has consistently been on the “low end of the totem pole’’ of public priorities which must change in order to make Massachusetts a better place to live.
To jump-start economy, state should extend building permits (Boston Globe, July 12, 2010)
Affordable housing is needed to strengthen the state’s economy
This editorial in the Boston Globe urges the legislature to stimulate construction and increase jobs in the building trades by adopting the Permit Extension Act. The editorial continues to say that “If Massachusetts is to recover from the recession, it doesn’t need to give NIMBY-minded neighbors and local officials even more power than they already have to block the market-rate and affordable housing needed to strengthen the state’s economy. The state needs to build its way out of the recession.”
Controversial 40B Repeal Effort Likely To Make Nov. Ballot (Banker & Tradesman, July 12, 2010)
Campaign to counter the repeal is gearing up for the fight
Banker & Tradesman outlines the November ballot issue regarding affordable housing. Tripp Jones, chair of the Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law, discusses the campaign’s strategy and why 40B is important to the economic health of Massachusetts. “We’re doing what we can to engage business leaders and others who have access to some capital to support our position, given how important this law’s been to creating an environment here that would be helpful to business and our economy as it comes out of the recession we’ve been going through,” Jones said. The article goes on to explain concerns about the campaign’s opponent, the Slow Growth Initiative. (Download PDF of article)
Sales tax foes upbeat on prospects (Boston Globe, July 8, 2010)
Repealing the affordable housing law would prevent young adults from staying in Massachusetts
While this article mainly focuses on the Massachusetts sales tax debate, it also discusses the affordable housing law's significance on the November ballot. In the article, Barry Bluestone, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University, says that dropping the affordable housing law would further price young people out of the housing market and continue the trend toward pushing them to live and work out of state. Bluestone believes that repealing the affordable housing law would “devastate the economy”.
Support anti-snob law (Cape Cod Times, July 5, 2010)
The affordable housing law provides a veteran with a place to call home
Thanks to the Affordable Housing law, John Foscaldi, a veteran and disabled federal civil servant, was able to purchase a comfortable and affordable home in Barnstable. In this editorial, Foscaldi tells the Cape Cod Times that “we need to protect this law so other seniors, working families and veterans can afford to stay in our great state." The editorial supports the protection of the affordable housing law.
OPINION: There’s a need for affordable housing (Enterprise News, July 2, 2010)
Chapter 40B has produced thousands of homes for people who never could have dreamed of living in some communities
Easton gives little opportunity to potential home buyers looking for affordable housing. Not enough towns are doing their share to provide such housing as only 3.3% of Easton’s housing market is considered affordable. The editorial explains how this law has “produced thousands of homes for people who never could have dreamed of living in some communities” and “eliminating it altogether would be a mistake and give the protesters exactly what they want.”
Two families move into habitat houses (Bedford Minuteman, July 1, 2010)
Habitat for Humanity and the town of Bedford welcome two new families to the community
On Saturday afternoon, a dream came true for a pair of families that were desperately searching for a place of their own to call home. For Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell, this dedication also celebrated the completion of its first handicap accessible home. Both homes were built using the affordable housing law.
40B Advocate Group Gains Momentum (Banker and Tradesmen, June 30, 2010)
The Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law expands state-wide effort
The Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law’s coalition has grown to over 250 individuals and organizations. The campaign has also recently hired Andrew Baker as Campaign Coordinator of Western Massachusetts. Baker notes that, “In a high-cost state like Massachusetts, our future depends on making it affordable for young working families to live in our state and for elders to be able to remain in their own communities. It's hard to imagine why anyone would want to take away this essential economic development tool for all our towns.” (Download PDF of article)
Radio Bostonian (Ellen Feingold, Affordable Housing Activist, June 25, 2010)
After decades of championing for affordable housing and seniors’ rights, Ellen Feingold announces her retirement
WBUR's Radio Boston profiled Ellen Feingold, who is stepping down in August after serving for twenty eight years as CEO of Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly (JCHE). Despite stepping down from JCHE, Ellen will continue her work as Treasurer for the Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law. Over the course of her career Ellen has touched countless lives and created hundreds of units of innovative and effective affordable housing for the elderly.
Stimulated in the Suburbs (Boston Business Journal, June 25, 2010)
Home sales surge, in Massachusetts’ suburban markets with more affordable housing
Due to their affordable housing market, commuter-friendly suburbs of Boston have experienced a recent surge in real estate sales. Contrastingly, communities with more expensive housing markets have continued to have little demand from consumers. In order to make the market truly affordable, reporter Craig Douglas points out that "housing market prices would have to drop 18% in Massachusetts to be what we consider affordable for the typical household." (Download PDF of article)
Massachusetts Near the Bottom in Housing Creation (WCFR, June 17, 2010)
State's Housing Stock Growth Under National Rate
Massachusetts has permitted its cities and towns to create their own rules and regulations regarding the construction of affordable homes for modest-income families. However, high housing costs and inadequate supplies of affordable housing have maintained a slow housing market for the Bay State.
The Stage is Set For Another Greater Boston Housing Price Bubble (Banker and Tradesman, June 21)
New homes can keep Massachusetts' housing market affordable.
Although the recession has made some housing more affordable, ultimately homes in Massachusetts are still unattainable for the average family. The article explains how filling the demand for more homes could help stabilize the market and create a more affordable market for Bay State buyers. Download PDF of the article.
Study: Southampton needs affordable housing (Taunton Gazette, June 17)
The town’s lack of affordable housing has priced many older residents, young singles and families out of the town's housing market.
The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission found that Southampton needs to create affordable and subsidized housing options to meet state requirements and make the town more accessible.
40B or Not 40B (BlogTalk Radio, June 15)
Online radio show explores the past, present, and future of Massachusetts affordable housing law.
Bernie Lynch, Lowell City's Manager and Francy Ronayne, spokeswoman of the Campaign to Protect the Affordable Housing Law inform listeners of the significance of the affordable housing law. Ronayne also dispels some of the common misconceptions about the law for listeners.
For many towns, housing goal remains elusive: Drive to repeal Chapter 40B reflects divide (Boston Globe, June 13)
Town officials argue that repealing the affordable housing law would make a tough housing situation worse.
Repealing the state’s primary affordable housing law would undercut construction of such homes in one of the nation’s priciest real estate markets. And a review of area communities finds starkly different results in how cities and towns meet the challenge of building affordable housing.
We need more housing (CommonWealth, June 9, 2010)
New construction in Massachusetts creates jobs, lowers housing costs, and gains revenue for our local and state governments.
High housing costs are a huge anchor on the Bay State economy, and housing is expensive precisely because communities think allowing new development costs them too much money. According to Elliot Eisenberg, senior economist for the Home Builders, the falloff in residential construction is responsible for a quarter of the jobs lost nationally. The construction sector is important to Massachusetts as well. But for us the problem is compounded because we also need to get building again to bring down our high housing costs.
Fed: Home ownership still out of reach for many in Mass. (Boston Herald, June 10, 2010)
While prices fell during the nation’s housing crisis, homeownership still remains expensive for many MA residents.
Even with lower housing prices, the cost of home ownership is still too expensive for many Bay State residents. “Even though home prices have dropped, people are struggling to make ends meet,” said Aaron Gornstein, executive director of Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association. “Housing may be more affordable for some, but for most people, things haven’t changed and homeownership in Massachusetts remains out of reach.” The article sites a study called “Housing Bust & Housing Affordability in New England” which found that the median price for a single-family home in Massachusetts in 2008 was $311,000 - the highest of all the New England states.
Repealing 40B (Banker and Tradesman, Real Estate Connection, Second Quarter 2010)
Repealing the affordable housing law will jeopardize the future economic prosperity of Massachusetts.
This article, which appeared in a special supplement in Banker and Tradesman, details the need for the affordable housing law and discusses the broader economic impact of its repeal. The article asserts that not only is the affordable housing law essential for future business and job growth, but also it has an immediate economic impact. Harvard economist Edward Glaesar is quoted saying, “the economy cannot grow without population growth and that population cannot grow without housing.” According to the article, the affordable housing law pumps $310 million directly into the state’s economy each year. (Downlad PDF of the article)
Sunny pitch to lure Hub’s industries (Boston Globe, June 3, 2010)
Repealing the housing law would make Massachusetts a less competitive state in which to do business.
In this op-ed Edward Glaeser writes that, the Atlanta Development Authority keeps coming to Boston to try to sell our hottest industries, on Atlanta’s low cost of living and well-educated workforce. Glaeser asserts that Boston needs to work hard to remain a competitive location for the businesses that Atlanta is trying to poach. In his op-ed, Glaeser argues that repealing Chapter 40B, which is the most important tool Massachusetts has to create affordable housing “would make it easier for Atlanta to attract our businesses by making Massachusetts even more expensive.”
Chelmsford family shows other side of housing law (Chelmsford Independent, May 8, 2010)
The Giannino family achieves homeownership through Chapter 40B.
In August 2004, Jennifer and Andrew Giannino had all but given up on finding a home in Chelmsford they could afford. But their lives drastically changed when they stumbled upon a newspaper article regarding an affordable condominium development. “I have to say my dream came true with this,” said Andrew, standing in his living room last week. “I was born in this town, I grew up in this town and I’m raising my children in the town. I’m able to contribute to the community in more ways than I ever thought I could.”
Housing that works (Cape Cod Times, April 7, 2010)
Cape Cod Times editorializes against the repeal of Chapter 40B.
This editorial details the history of the affordable housing law and supports the effort to protect it against the repeal. The piece says, since its inception in 1969, Chapter 40B has led to the creation of nearly 56,000 affordable homes statewide, and there are another 10,900 approved for construction. Considering that the average price of a single-family home in most parts of the state is $285,000, and a family of four with a combined annual income of $65,000 can only afford a $180,000 home, this is no time to repeal Chapter 40B.
Supporters defend affordable-housing legislation as referendum heads to ballot (Brookline Tab, March 1, 2010)
Chairman Tripp Jones attributes 80% of new affordable housing to the housing law.
Chairman Tripp Jones boiled down his argument for preserving 40B when committee members met with GateHouse Media reporters and editors Thursday, Feb. 25. He said that approximately 80 percent of affordable housing is directly attributable to this law. Joe Kriesberg, the president and CEO of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations added that 40B is the “only time that real estate development profits are actually regulated … without this tool, many communities would not have any affordable housing, or very little affordable housing.”
Habitat for Humanity offers a 'hand up' (South Coast Today, February 25, 2010)
Habitat for Humanity uses Chapter 40B to offer a low-cost, no-interest mortgage on new homes to low-income working families in need of adequate shelter. Christine Halle, office manager at Buzzards Bay Habitat, based in Mattapoisett, notes that Habitat homes count toward the 40B requirements for each town, as they are considered "affordable" houses. (Download PDF of the article)
Letter: We can't afford to lose the affordable housing law (South Coast Today, February 21, 2010)
If housing law is repealed, over 15,000 locally approved homes at risk of never being built.
In this letter to the editor, Ellen Feingold, Treasurer of the Committee Against Repealing the Housing Law, responds to misperceptions associated with the law. She says that if the law is repealed, over 15,000 homes that have been approved locally are at risk of never being built. She adds that new regulations have been added to the law in recent years, providing more local control and participation, which makes 40B one of the most effective laws of its type in the country. (Download PDF of the letter)
Chapter 40B: Let it be (Cape Cod Times, February 18, 2010)
Housing law credited with creating 30,000 homes for households earning 80 percent of area median income.
An editorial detailing how the affordable housing law has made the housing situation much better on Cape Cod, not worse. Aaron Gornstein, executive director of Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, mentions that "This effective public/private partnership has led to the creation of more than 56,000 homes for working and middle-class families and senior citizens in every region of the commonwealth, including approximately 30,000 homes for households earning 80 percent of the area median income.”
Hanging in the Balance: Massachusetts Affordable Housing Statute Likely to Appear on November 2010 Ballot (Bay State Apartment Owner, First Quarter 2010)
Repeal of housing law would kill many projects still in the planning stage.
An article explaining the affordable housing law and its importance as the “most widely used tool for multi-family residential development.” According to the article, if the housing law is repealed in November, the affordable housing statute will be wiped off the books entirely. Among the casualties will be projects which have been planned for months or years, but construction of which will not have started by January 1, 2010.
Coalition Prepares to Fight Repeal of The Affordable Housing (massbuilder, First Quarter 2010)
Builder Magazine finds housing law crucial for affordable housing development in MA suburbs.
The Boston area has lagged behind the rest of the country in new housing construction for decades. Builder Magazine reports that dozens of bedroom communities and small towns, many with roots going back hundreds of years, have erected zoning barriers in an effort to keep school costs down or preserving a community's character. But even less housing would have been built in the suburbs - and virtually nothing affordable to many working and middle class families - without the help of the affordable housing law. (Dowload PDF of the article)
Repeal 40B Efforts Have Mysterious Benefactor: Chelmsford Nonprofit Funneling Loads Of Cash Into Ballot Initiative (Banker & Tradesman, January 25, 2010)
Majority of funding for housing law repeal group appears to come from one benefactor.
Banker & Tradesman reports that the group trying to repeal the housing law appears to be getting its funding from one organization – a nonprofit linked to groups which seek to reduce human population growth. The organization, known as the Slow Growth Initiative describes itself as a regional initiative of the New Hampshire-based New England Coalition for Sustainable Population (NECSP), a nonprofit which supports reducing human population growth. (Download PDF of the article)
Affordable homes and more jobs the key to helping homeless (The Salem News, January 14, 2010)
Experts say more affordable housing key to solving homelessness in Massachusetts.
This article describes the state’s need for affordable housing in Massachusetts to help prevent homelessness. The Gustuses were one of thousands of families placed temporarily in motels across the state this year. And while they were lucky enough to eventually find a permanent home, nearly a thousand more are still languishing in motels across the state. Experts say affordable housing and more jobs are key to the overall solution.
Our View: The Affordable Housing Law: Reform, yes; repeal, no (The Salem News, December 23, 2009)
The Salem News emphasizes the importance of the affordable housing law over the past 40 years.
The Salem News editorializes about the importance of the affordable housing law, emphasizing how the law has helped create 55,000 units of reasonably priced housing that might not otherwise have been built over the past 40 years. It continues to say that there should be a provision to reward those communities, like Salem, that have historically accommodated the housing needs of those newly arrived in this country and others of limited means.
Chapter 40B proponents defend housing law (MetroWest Daily News, December 11, 2009)
Broad-based coalition of housing advocates comes together to protect Chapter 40B.
A growing coalition of housing advocates has geared up for a yearlong fight to defend Massachusetts' affordable housing law against a ballot initiative to overturn it. At the time the article was written, the coalition included some 60 housing, civic, religious and business organizations. According to Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, committee members believe that they are part of “the most broad-based coalition ever put together on the issue of affordable housing". The coalition’s numbers have since grown to over 200 organizations.
Report studies fiscal impact of 40B (Chelmsford Independent, November 4, 2009)
Chelmsford report finds no negative fiscal impact of three out of four 40B developments studied.
This article details a study commissioned by Chelmsford board of selectmen, which analyzed municipal services, education and community service costs of four selected projects built under the affordable housing law. Released in September, the report found that three of the four 40B developments studied had no negative financial impact on the Town.
Report: Housing In Boston Less Affordable Than Ever (WBUR, October 26, 2009)
WBUR reports on the unaffordable housing prices in Greater Boston in spite of economic downturn.
According to this report, despite a nearly 20 percent decrease in housing prices in Greater Boston, the region is still one of the most unaffordable places to live in the country. Rents in Boston are even higher than in New York, and only second in the country to San Francisco. “We are not out of the woods, unemployment is rising and rising rapidly here in the commonwealth,” said Chip Case, an economics professor at Wellesley College. “We’ve got a fair amount of uncertainty about where the housing market is going.”
Building Goodwill in Sudbury (MetroWest Daily News, September 28, 2009)
Chapter 40B used by Habitat to build home for single mother of two in Sudbury.
In 2009, Habitat for Humanity used Chapter 40B to build a home for a single mother of two in Sudbury. “I never could have imagined how positively my life would change since one year ago today when I attended the first (MetroWest/Greater Worcester) Habitat for Humanity information session at the library,” said Margaret Fotakis, the new owner of a three-bedroom home at 219 Pratt's Mill Road. "It's just the most amazing thing."