🔨 Guess How Many New Housing Units are Coming to Framingham
The In-law Apartment Debate | Geothermal Groundbreaking | Community Preservation Committee Holding Public Hearing | What’s Happening Around the ‘ham | The Civic Week Ahead
Hello Framingham, it’s Monday, June 19. Happy Juneteenth. Framingham raised the Juneteenth flag outside the Memorial Building for the first time on Friday.
Special shout out to our students, faculty and staff, and parents for a great last week of school before summer break. The last day of school is this Thursday. Have a wonderful summer!
Today I’m writing about one of the hottest topics in the city: housing.
Let’s get to it.
Have a comment or question? I’d love to hear from you. Email me at mkfeeney@gmail.com
Did someone forward this to you? Awesome. Subscribe here and never miss an issue.
Guess How Many New Housing Units are Coming to Framingham
Single family houses, apartments, condos, oh my!: Housing is one of the big issues in the city. It feels like everywhere you look there are units under construction, or news of a proposed project, followed by the vocal opposition or concerns by neighbors. Framingham is growing. We cannot deny it.
But are we growing too fast without considering the needs of residents and the future? Or are these concerns NIMBYism at its core?
Remember the apartment moratorium? In response to the permitting and construction of 763 units in one year, the Council approved a one year moratorium on apartments starting in September 2020 to study the impact of the new units on city services, traffic, economic development and future planning. Unfortunately, little of this work was performed by the Spicer Administration, in fact then-Mayor Spicer vetoed the moratorium (which was overturned by the Council) and never supported it moving forward.
Once the moratorium ended, the housing proposals started coming in at a steady pace.
Here is a list of current housing developments on the docket in 2023:
Nobscot Plaza: 158 units (under construction)
Bancroft Lofts: 340 units (under review by Planning Board)
208 Waverly Street: 225 units (under review by Planning Board)
16 South Street: 181 units (approved by Planning Board, no sign of construction)
26 Pearl Street: 40 units (under review by Planning Board)
Baiting Brook Farm (Grove & Winch Streets): 63 units (approved by Planning Board last week, now onto Conservation Commission review)
Total new units: 1007
More to come: There are various rumors and speculation about hundreds of additional units coming down the line, but the above list is what came in front of the Planning Board so far. The much talked about new Nobscot proposal on Edmands/Edgell has not submitted a formal proposal to the city. But draft concepts have put housing projections between 400-500 units. That project has an incredibly long road ahead of it, but if it were approved, we’re hypothetically looking at a total of 1407 new units permitted this year.
Housing is an issue around Massachusetts: Both the Baker and Healey Administrations made housing a priority. We all know the cost of housing is higher than most of the country. Along with our limited stock, we have a decades in the making housing crisis. According to Director of Planning and Community Development Sarkis Sarkisian, the state recently certified Framingham for reaching the parameters of the new Multi-Family Requirements for MBTA Communities zoning regulations.
Should there be a cap on new units? Councilor John Stefanini of District 8 proposed capping annual apartment construction at 300 units per year. The proposed ordinance is in front of the Council’s Planning and Zoning Subcommittee. At a meeting last week there were some concerns that capping the construction might jeopardize new state requirements. Expect the subcommittee and the Council to continue debating this issue throughout the summer.
The big questions: The permitting and construction of new housing units shows no sign of slowing down. Framingham should harness this demand, and work towards answering these questions:
How can we ensure housing is affordable for residents?
How do we preserve the character of neighborhoods and fight against gentrification while offering a diverse housing stock?
What do we want Framingham to look like and be 5, 10, 20 years from now?
How do we keep developers accountable to neighbors and the wider community?
Should more units be offered for ownership, like condos?
What’s next? What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Keep the conversation going.
The In-law Apartment Debate
After years of debate and drafts, the Planning Board sent their proposed ordinance regarding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to the Council.
What are ADUs? Also referred to as in-law apartments (or in Britain, a “granny annex"), ADUs are housing units, with sleeping and cooking areas, attached to a single family house or is an entirely separate unit, for example located above a garage or in the backyard on the same property. These units are smaller than the primary house.
Years in the making: First proposed by Councilor Michael Cannon of District 4 in November 2018, the issue of ADUs gained support among seniors and disability advocates as a way for loved ones to age in place or for disabled young adults to have independence while living at home. While others argued these units could be used as rentals for college students or change single family homes into duplexes. The Planning Department held several public hearings and published a survey trying to obtain community input.
What is in the proposed ordinance? Here are the highlights:
Property owners wishing to build an in-law must apply for a special permit through the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA);
Owner must occupy at least one of the dwelling units as their primary residence;
No ADU shall be held in separate ownership from the primary dwelling unit;
The unit will be a complete, separate housekeeping unit containing sleeping, cooking, and sanitary facilities;
May not be occupied by more than two people nor have more than two bedrooms;
Designed to maintain the appearance, character and scale, as viewed from the street, of the primary dwelling unit.
ADUs coming statewide: According to Planning Board Chair Kristina Johnson, AUDs are “another tool in the toolbox to deal with the housing crisis” and that the Commonwealth is moving towards making in-law units by right.
Next steps: The proposal was submitted to the Mayor and the Council. Neither group has publicly discussed this proposal to date.
Geothermal Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking for the new Eversource Geothermal Pilot Program took place last week at MassBay College. Mayor Charlie Sisitsky and State Representative Priscila Sousa joined the Eversource team for the photo.
Framingham is partnering with Eversource to build a first-of-its-kind networked geothermal system in Massachusetts. Geothermal Pilot Program that will bring a cost-effective, low-carbon source of heating and cooling for residents, businesses, and municipal facilities.
This is such an exciting program for Framingham!
Community Preservation Committee Holding Public Hearing
Round two of the CPA begins: The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) holds a public hearing on Thursday, June 22 at 7 p.m. in the Blumer Room of the Memorial Building.
Share your thoughts: The hearing gives people the chance to comment on needs and ideas on projects related to open space, historic preservation, outdoor recreation and community housing. Public comment influences this year’s update to the Community Preservation Plan, which serves as a guide for the CPC when making decisions about proposals.
Cannot make the hearing? The CPC will also accept written public comments until June 30:
Email the CPC at cpc@framinghamma.gov
Mailed Community Preservation Committee, c/o Framingham Planning and Economic Development Department, 150 Concord Street, Rm 121, Framingham, MA 01702
Upcoming deadlines: The deadline for acceptance of full application submissions for the next round is expected to be October 15, 2023. Recommendations to the Council will be made in March 2024.
What’s Happening Around the ‘ham
Farmers Market
It is back! The Farmers’ Market kicks off the new season this Thursday at 3:00pm. Located on the Framingham Center Common, the market is open until 7:00pm.
Food trucks are onsite starting at noon until closing.
To learn about the vendors and food trucks available every week, check out the new market website.
July 4th Celebration
Fireworks return to Farm Pond on Friday, June 30 to celebrate Independence Day.
Stars & Stripes Over Framingham not only features a fireworks show, but food trucks and musical performances by First Larry Bee & The Buzz and then a performance by the U.S. Navy Band Northeast’s Ceremonial Band and Rhode Island Sound ensembles.
For more information, visit the city’s website.
The Civic Week Ahead
Tuesday, June 20
Wednesday, June 21
In closing…
Thanks for reading The Ham’er today. If you found something useful, please share it with a friend. Yes, that friend - they will enjoy reading it! Guarenteed.
Questions? Something shared? Send them my way.
Have a great week!
-Mary Kate
Your articles really are invaluable. Thank you for doing such amazing work! I just wanted to add something to your “important questions“ about new housing units that you did not specifically identify, which is traffic impacts. During my decades, in municipal public works, and the associated reviewing of such projects, it never ceased to amaze me how traffic engineers are able to use numbers and analysis that demonstrate little or no traffic impacts when anyone with a drop of common sense, and a little real life experience, knows that is BS. I wonder if there’s a way to create enforceable regulations that will levy fines and penalties against a project if post construction analysis shows that the preconstruction pipe dream calculations were incorrect? Or, better, require that the developers fund an independent traffic analysis that would be performed by a consultant hired by the city and paid by the city who would then be reimbursed by the developer? To me, and, I believe, to many of us, the worst part of ongoing development is the significant increases in traffic.
Thanks again for being such a valuable resource to the people of Framingham.
You are filling a much needed void that would be apparent if you were not filling it.
Nick Paganella