Housing Headlines

NATICK --- Less than a year after Town Meeting defeated a proposal to relax downtown residential parking requirements for developers, the Planning Board and other town officials are discussing putting forth another article that would encourage downtown development, especially a downtown site that is now vacant after a summer fire destroyed a historic building. Town officials say developers have turned away from developing downtown housing near Natick's commuter rail stop because they can't meet the parking requirements, which are one parking spot per studio or one-bedroom unit; 1.5 spaces for a two-bedroom unit; and two spots per three-bedroom space.

YARMOUTH --- A bylaw designed to promote the transformation of Yarmouth's Route 28 motels into affordable housing continues to prove successful as a second motel is poised to change ownership within the next few weeks. Yarmouth Gardens - the oldest motel in town - is set to be sold to Cambridge-based Commonwealth Community Developers, which will demolish the four buildings and construct two buildings with 40 apartments. Owners Oreste and Sheila Volpe gave the town the first option to buy the property in 2016 and the town's Affordable Housing Trust selected Commonwealth. The town then committed $1.2 million in Community Preservation Act funds to support the development. This would be the second motel property developed under the town's bylaw. The 69-unit Yarmouth Commons opened this past summer.

BOSTON --- In an interview and podcast with Commonwealth Magazine, Tom O'Brien of HYM Investment Group provides an update on seeking approvals for the redevelopment of Suffolk Downs and more broadly about the need for housing. "“One of the most important statistics that I’ve focused on in the last six months is that over the last five years we’ve created 300,000 jobs inside Route 128. During that same period of time, we only created 110,000 new units of housing. The broader public really needs to understand that we need to build more housing and we need to build it at all levels, a lot of it.”

WATERTOWN --- As first noted on Dec. 30 in MHP's housing news roundup, here's more on how Watertown became to be the first community in the state to achieve safe harbor from Ch. 40B comprehensive permit land use applications by proving that more than 1.5 percent of its developable land is being used for affordable housing. In pursuing safe harbor, the town calculated its use of developable land at 2.29 percent and the state's review found it to be 1.74 percent. However, the state included Mt. Auburn Cemetery in the calculation, which was not part of the town's calculation.

BARNSTABLE --- Determined to make a dent in the Cape’s housing shortage, the Barnstable Town Council has voted unanimously to make $2.5 million in Community Preservation Committee funds available for affordable housing.The vote transfers funds into the town's affordable housing trust fund, which is an effective way for towns to use local funds to support affordable housing initiatives.

SALEM --- A zoning plan to allow 180 apartments across seven different parcels failed by a single vote to get the two-thirds majority necessary for passage, delaying for now an attempt to rezone a part of the city from business to multi-family residential.