Friday, August 10, 2007

40B or not to 40B

Barbara Anderson posted a good column on this the other day.

We've definitely got an issue in our town according to the Commonwealth - by state standards we're at only around 3% "affordable" and we need to be 10%.

One of the remedies is to count mobile home park units (really affordable) towards the percentages. Our Rep Paul Frost has proposed this - here's the link. It seems to fit somewhat in that it's housing and it's cheap - it's part of the solution they are trying to afford. So far it's being fought - mainly by predatory 40B developers who like the fact they can make so much $$ off new developments while ignoring local zoning laws so they can build em quick and cheap. Even accounting for this, we're only around 8% - but it's not passed at this point.

It's certainly something that's been brought up as concerns at Planning and Master Plan meetings. The Master Plan even mentions it. There's support for it now among members like Dan Carpenter, who's voiced his opinion in support of 40B apartments in the past. He complains that young people who work in town can't afford to live here. I say then let's try and up their incomes and attack the equation that way.

To me, a regional approach makes more sense. We're right next to Worcester, the second largest city in New England with many affordable apartments. We shouldn't be in the business of trying to out-cheap the city, we'll never do it nor should we. I had to live in the City after college for a time until I could save enough to buy a place here - it was something to strive for and I think makes the town more appealing vs giving someone a cheap place artificially that they won't respect as much.

In any event, we're vulnerable right now to 40B apartment developments, which scare many folks because of the lack of control the town would have. They could literally plop one down in the middle of a bunch of houses and there would be little the town or residents could do, at least according to some officials. It's been used as a scare tactic in the Wallace Ave development to try and gain concessions. I think the best realistic approach is for the town to take the initiative and plan and promote some mixed-use areas with 40B where we decide, before neighborhoods become the target of some 40B developer. If there's so much commercial space vacant maybe it's time to put one on Rt 20 or Rt 12 for instance, near a bus line.

No comments: