Around Town

Council Subcommittee Exploring Ways to Expand Affordable Housing in Watertown

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The Town Council’s Human Services Committee will hold a series of meetings looking at ways to increase the amount of affordable housing in Watertown. 

The town has not met the state’s goal of 10 percent of the housing units in town being available to rent or buy at an affordable rate. The committee will invite in experts in the area of affordable housing to help them get an idea of where Watertown stands, strategies used by other communities, and what would work in town. The committee will hold meetings at 7:15 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month each month in Town Hall, besides July, thorough the end of the year, said Councilor Tony Palomba, chair of the Human Services Committee. During the first meeting in May the committee heard from Chair of the Watertown Housing Partnership Fred Reynolds about the current state of affordable housing. He said at the last count Watertown was at about 6.9 percent affordable housing.

Development

Town Council Increases Requirement for Affordable Housing in New Projects

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Developers will be required to provide more affordable housing in most residential projects built in Watertown after the Town Council’s vote on Tuesday night. The Council approved changes to the Town’s Inclusionary Zoning Requirements, but there were questions about who would qualify to live in the affordable units. Previously the requirement was 12.5 percent of the units for most areas of town, but that amount was increased for projects of 20 units or more. The requirement for projects with 6-19 unit projects will remain at 12.5 percent. Also, the income requirements change for the projects that would have to provide 15 percent affordable units. For projects of 20 or more units, 10 percent of units in a rental project (or 2/3 of the affordable units) will be for people who meet the 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) standard, and 5 percent of the units are for those meeting the 65 percent of the AMI threshold, which would be $63,800 for a family of four, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Affordable Housing

LETTER: Why Question 5 Offers Hope for Those Who Need It Most

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To the Editor:

On Nov. 8, Watertown voters will have a chance to approve the Community Preservation Act, which would provide funding for three kinds of projects in town: historic preservation, expanding and improving open space and recreational facilities, and providing affordable housing. These projects would benefit ALL residents of the community, and could be proposed by anyone. We strongly support approval of the CPA, both because we believe that it will enhance the quality of life in our town in many substantive ways, and also for a more personal reason: we have close friends who are homeless. They are a family of seven.

Affordable Housing

Planning Board Supports Increasing Affordable Housing Requirements for New Developments

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The Planning Board voted to support a zoning change that would require developers building medium and large housing projects in Watertown to include more affordable housing. 

Last Thursday, the Planning Board discussed the zoning amendment and voted unanimously to recommend that the Town Council adopt the changes. The proposal was brought to the Town Council by the Watertown Housing Partnership. It was considered first by the Economic Development and Planning Subcommittee and then by the full Council, before being sent to the Planning Board to sign off on it, said Andrea Adams, senior planner in the Watertown Community Development and Planning Department. The town has a requirement that projects of 6 more units have 12.5 percent of units be rented or sold at an affordable rate. When the Town Council approved the Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD) for the section of east Arsenal Street earlier this year, the affordable housing requirement was increased to 15 percent for that area, Adams said.

Around Town

Forum Draws Attention to Need for More Affordable Housing in Area

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With housing in the Boston area one of the most expensive in the nation, the need for more affordable housing has become critical, said presenters at the Tri Community Coalition to End Homelessness event last week. Chrystal Kornegay, Undersecretary for the State Department of Housing and Community Development was the keynote speaker at the event organized by groups from Watertown, Belmont and Waltham, and was held at St. Joseph’s Church in Belmont. Kornegay said the Boston area has the fourth most expensive housing prices in the United States and the ninth highest rents. A person or family spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing is considered housing “burdened.”

Affordable Housing

Council Subcommittee Rules on RMUD Borders, Passes on Affordable Housing

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A subcommittee of the Town Council met Saturday and debated whether to split up the proposed Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD) on the east end of Arsenal Street, but it decided to hold off on a recommendation on whether to increase the affordable housing requirement for the area. 

The Economic Development and Planning subcommittee went through the proposed amendments to the RMUD, which is currently under consideration by the full Town Council. The zoning change would turn the area where the Arsenal and Watertown malls are located (and other nearby properties) from industrial zoned to one where a mix of residential, retail and office would be allowed. Some residents who have followed the process wanted to split the RMUD in two. Currently, Boylston Properties, which owns the Arsenal Project and other parcels south of Arsenal Street, is working on plans to redevelop the mall. Resident Elodia Thomas said people still have questions on how the zoning would work in the entire district, but have seen a lot already about what Boylston Properties wants to do.

Government

Town Council Move Aimed at Increasing Affordable Housing in Watertown

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The Town Council voted to approve steps to increase the number of affordable housing units when new developments are built in Watertown. Tuesday night, the council voted 8-1 to increase the requirement of affordable units in complexes from 10 percent to 12.5 percent. The move was made to help Watertown meet the state requirement of having 10 percent of the total housing units in town available at an affordable rate. If a community does not meet the 10 percent requirement under Chapter 40B (sometimes called the anti-snob law), developers could come into town to build projects with 25 percent of the units sold or rented as affordable, and they would not have to comply with the town’s zoning regulations, said Councilor Vincent Piccirilli. To qualify for affordable housing, applicants must make below 80 percent of the Area Median Income.

Around Town

Affordable Housing Available in New Apartment Complex

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A lottery will be held for apartments in the new Watertown Mews complex. Families making below 80 percent of the Area Median Income are eligible to join the lottery for 32 of the 206 units at the complex off Pleasant Street at 1 Repton Place (across from Russo’s). Units include a gourmet kitchen, a full-size washer and dryer and a walk in closet. The complex features include a fitness room, a yoga studio, a multi-media game room, a pet spa  and a pool. (See photos and more by clicking here.)

The income limits are: one person – $47,450, two people – $54,200, three people – $61,000, four people – $67,750, five people – $73,200, six people – $78,600.