Homes are the foundation of all communities, and a community that includes all kinds of people needs all kinds of homes. That’s true for Newton where we value diversity. Today in Newton, our diversity is at risk.
Average home prices are soaring beyond the reach of young families, the lifeblood of our city’s future. Older residents, people with disabilities, local-business and city employees, and others who want to stay in or move to Newton have too few suitable options. Our village centers, home to small businesses and restaurants, are crucial to our community’s prosperity and vibrancy. Our village centers need help to stay vital and to achieve their full potential, even as climate change and traffic congestion is forcing us to think in new ways about what, where, and how we build.
Zoning Redesign. If you watched the Planning Department’s excellent presentation last December, you’ll understand that Newton’s current zoning ordinance—the rules governing what gets built where—is a big reason for the ever-increasing size and price of our homes and the diminishing diversity of our community. To change these trends, and open doors across our city and in all 13 villages to people of all economic means, all ages, all races, and all ethnicities, we have to change the rules and build homes of all shapes and sizes, especially near village centers with public transit).
This is why I am committed to Zoning Redesign. I’m particularly excited about the prospect of redesigning our village centers, and have loved learning about Newtonians’ visions for them. Allowing more people to live in or nearby village centers and increasing access to the opportunities and amenities they offer will strengthen their economic vitality and community potential. We’re seeing this in real time, in the heart of Newtonville. Zoning Redesign is a historic opportunity to break with the exclusionary, car-centric patterns set by prior ordinances, and lay the groundwork for a more inclusive and sustainable future for Newton. Please take some time to explore the related resources produced by our Planning Department.
Affordable Housing. Since I became Mayor, Newton has made great progress on affordable housing. For example—thanks to our Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, our Community Preservation Program, Massachusetts Chapter 40B, and thoughtful review by our City Councilors or the Zoning Board of Appeals (and, one, Northland, approved by our residents)—the Northland, Riverdale, Dunstan East, Riverside, Golda Meir expansion, and Haywood House projects will create a total of 1,979 new homes, 492 of them for low- or moderate-income households. Other projects under consideration, including the West Newton Armory, in which every unit will be permanently affordable, will bring us even more. I look forward to finding additional opportunities like the Armory spur Newton’s progress toward greater affordability.
Zoning Redesign is critical to boosting our affordable housing capacity, but it won’t automatically produce homes affordable to people with very low-incomes (50% or less of the “area median income,” as defined by HUD). Because land and construction costs here are so high, these homes require some form of public subsidy (grants, loans, tax credits, etc.), and will always be a challenge. That said, we can and should do more to make it easier. I’m very interested in the idea of creating an affordable housing trust, as another mechanism for supporting affordable housing .
Tear-Downs. It’s hard to watch modest, relatively affordable homes get torn down and replaced with homes that don’t seem to fit into the neighborhood, and sell for prices beyond the reach of average families. If we want different outcomes, though, we have to change the rules (i.e., our current zoning ordinance), within reason. Simply protecting “naturally affordable” homes—controlling for tear-downs—won’t stem the rising cost of land and construction. To be truly welcoming and inclusive, and fulfill our Climate Action Plan, we need zoning that allows us to increase the supply and variety of smaller homes. We have to plan for the Newton we want in the years ahead.
Zoning Redesign is our chance to reverse the trend toward ever-larger, more expensive, more energy-hungry homes, and add housing affordable to all kinds of people, and revitalize our villages, and effectively combat climate change. Let’s seize this opportunity.