Somerville is in a housing crisis, and we’re not alone. It’s a problem across the greater Boston area. Both long-term residents and new ones are being displaced from Somerville. Many of the people who keep our schools, libraries and small businesses running can’t afford to live here. In an urgent situation, we need urgent action.
I want our population to continue to grow, not shrink; for families to be able to thrive; for young people to come live here and for seniors to stay here.
I’ll take bold steps to increase the amount of affordable housing, partnering with our state and neighboring cities.
In 2022, I introduced and successfully achieved passage of a zoning ordinance amendment that removed site plan approval for backyard cottages, making them an easy option for property owners looking to add an accessory dwelling unit. In 2023, I voted in favor of the common sense home rule for local rent stabilization. For four years, I’ve been heavily involved with the 299 Broadway site, the Somerville Redevelopment Authority’s urban renewal plan. The final numbers for the project include 319 new housing units, with 136 of those being affordable units.
These steps are important, but to make major progress, we need a Mayor who will move on day one with the urgency the situation requires.
My six-pronged plan will help us move in the right direction:
- Stabilize rents and protect against displacement
- Incentivize affordable housing
- Upzone near transit
- Create a first-time homebuyer program
- Relieve property taxes for seniors and residents with low incomes
- Ensure effective, efficient government
- Invest in Social Housing
Stabilize rents and protect against displacement
When rents get dramatically raised, people get pushed out. This destabilizes both peoples’ lives and our neighborhoods. Rent stabilization is a common-sense approach to protect our renters and ensure they aren’t hit with massive, unexpected costs that may force them to move out of our city. Because cities aren’t allowed to enact these changes without state approval, we are forced to file what’s called a “home rule petition” to move forward on rent stabilization. Year after year, the state legislature denies communities the chance to make their own decisions around tenant protection. There is now a potential 2026 ballot question on rent caps that may change the dynamic. I will work with our regional, state and local partners to advocate for a new tenant protection home rule.
Many good and savvy landlords who already practice their own rent stabilization policy by not hitting tenants with exorbitant rent increases, opting to prioritize keeping tenants over the tenant churn that comes with always chasing market rents. This measure forces all landlords to act as good stewards, and levels the playing field for landlords who already keep rent increases minimal to ensure residents can stay in their homes.
Just-cause eviction protections are also important. This requires that any eviction only happen on very specific grounds, including failure to pay rent, a substantial violation of the lease, substantial damage to the rental unit by the tenant, serious criminal activity by the tenant that constitutes a threat to others, intended use and occupancy by a family member, or demolition or conversion to a condo or non-residential use. Relocation fees when a tenant is being displaced at no fault of their own are another important tenant protection. These currently are included in our condo conversion ordinance, and they should apply to renters as well.
Incentivize affordable housing
Somerville’s Inclusionary Zoning Law requires private and nonprofit developers to build affordable housing units as part of their projects. Somerville has one of the best in the nation, requiring developments of more than four residential units to have a minimum of 20% of those units be permanently affordable. There’s more we can do to ensure that building a higher percentage of affordable housing units is a win-win for developers and residents. That includes offering financing programs for increasing the percentage of affordable housing units in a building.
At 299 Broadway, we were able to come to an agreement for 42% affordable housing through Urban Center Housing Tax Increment Financing (UCH-TIF), a type of tax incentive. If we want more housing, we need to ensure that math works out to encourage developers to build, but we can and should require or incentivize more. I will also expand the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and use that to incentivize worthy projects to build in Somerville.
Upzone near transit
I will continue to strongly advocate for upzoning near transit, one of the most important cornerstones of my campaign, to increase density where it’s needed most while also protecting our naturally occurring affordable housing. This approach will stem the displacement crisis while adding density where there is most demand. I will work with the council to reform our zoning code to upzone near transit. More density where there’s most need = more affordability across Somerville.
Create a first-time homebuyer program
I would create a First Time Homebuyer grant modeled off the City of Boston’s program. People meeting income qualifications could receive a grant for the purchase of their house. In Boston, the grant is for three percent of the purchase price plus closing costs, up to $50,000. The goal of such a program would be to allow households who rent in Somerville to buy here, stay, and continue on as part of our community.
Relieve property taxes for seniors, veterans, and residents with low incomes
As Somerville property values have skyrocketed, seniors and residents with low incomes increasingly struggle to stay in their homes. I will look to expand property tax relief for seniors and residents with low incomes currently offered by the City. This includes relief on water bills, Community Preservation Act (CPA Act) exemptions, property tax exemptions and deferrals, and even a program to work part-time for the City to pay off up to $1,500 per year of the property tax bill. At the same time, we will partner with local organizations to ensure more people can get the tax help they need to take advantage of all state and federal programs.
Ensure effective, efficient government
Permitting often causes delays and red tape for developers and homeowners alike. If a housing development has 60% or greater affordable units, I will explore policies to prioritize their development, as they have done in Boston. The goal will be to move affordable housing as quickly as possible, and to incentivize first-time affordable housing developers to build in Somerville.
I will review the Office of Housing Stability to ensure we are creating the maximum benefit possible for our communities. Rather than creating a new department that may cause confusion and communication issues, I will look to expand the scope of our existing departments.
Our city needs a wide range of different housing types, from studios to one-bedrooms to multi-bedroom homes to co-housing. City government should prioritize and incentivize a diverse housing stock. Housing will be my top priority and area of focus, and we will use all of the tools at our city’s disposal to tackle the housing crisis.
Invest in social housing
Somerville has an opportunity to lead in creating deeply affordable, appealing social housing. These types of programs can work incredibly well. For example, in the city of Vienna, more than half the population live in social housing owned and rented out by the government or subsidized co-operative housing. These programs rent to a socioeconomically diverse mix of tenants, creating welcoming communities for all. The State of Massachusetts created a social housing program last year, and I will work with Rep Connolly and Governor Healey to get this program to a point where we can take early advantage of the new program. We will use all the tools available to ensure that Somerville to build new, high quality social housing that paves the way in Massachusetts and allows more residents to stay here.
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