The Affordability Question
Welcome to The Ham’er| More Affordable Housing in Framingham? | How to Solve Panhandling | What is Filming in Downtown?
Welcome to The Ham’er
Wow! Thank you to everyone who has signed up. I never imagined such a strong start to The Ham’er. Hope you find my weekly dispatch useful and thought-provoking.
Next week we’ll start our regularly scheduled Monday appearance in your inbox with my attempt to sort through the noise and share the big topics of the week. Like all things, this newsletter will continue to evolve.
The content of the newsletter does not reflect the opinions of any organization, group or board I serve on. All opinions are my own. And no, this list will never be sold or used for any political campaigns.
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Now onto the issues…
More Affordable Housing in Framingham?
Affordable housing rates are at the top of the agenda in the Memorial Building. Both the Council and the Planning Board held public hearings on raising the rate last week.
The issue: Right now 10.7% of multifamily housing in the city is classified “affordable.” Due to a Massachusetts state law commonly known as 40B, communities must have 10% of their housing stock classified as affordable. If it goes lower than 10% state requirement, a developer can submit a comprehensive permit application for affordable housing which is hard for local officials to deny. These applications can grant waivers to local zoning ordinances. For example, a developer could build high rise, dense apartments on the Fafard property on Grove Street.
Framingham is barely squeaking by the minimum. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth is considering raising the 10% minimum to 14% or 15% to address the major housing crisis throughout the state.
How did we get here? More than 1000 new units have been built over the last few years, and only 100 of them qualify as affordable. According to Sarki Sarkisian, the Economic Development Director, we should be at 11%, if not more. Two major projects, Millwood and Northside Meadows (the old Marist property), paid the city to build affordable housing elsewhere in the city, instead of building it on site. Paying to build elsewhere does not count towards our requirements. With all of the construction, we should be gaining, not simply breaking even.
So, what is the possible solution?: The Sisitsky Administration wants to increase our minimum to 14%. Councilor Christine Long, chair of the Planning and Zoning Subcommittee, also presented a plan to the Council, “to increase affordable units in multifamily housing projects to 14% and increase the existing workforce requirement to 20% where it currently exists and to add a 10% workforce provision to multifamily where it is currently not required.“
Let’s break down the two types of housing: Affordable is for those who earn 80% or less of the area median income (AMI) as defined by the Census. This is where Section 8 vouchers come into play. Workforce housing is for those who earn between 60% and 120% of AMI, and provides more flexibility to housing projects. People who fall into this category don’t make enough to pay $3000 a month for an apartment in Downtown, but also make too much to qualify for a voucher.
Long’s proposal would ultimately require 24-34% of a multifamily project to have a component of affordable and workforce housing. Both members of the Council and Planning Board expressed that this percentage is too high, and will end up turning away developers…thus resulting in no new affordable units being built at all.
This conversation is not over… but opens us up to have a better discussion and vision for what we want in Framingham. The next steps cannot be taken in haste.
These are questions Framingham has been struggling for years: What kind of community do we want to foster? What housing should be built? How can we balance retail, office and housing Downtown? With units being built that are out of reach for so many of our current residents, how can we keep our young families and professionals and seniors in the city, while welcoming new residents? And, should the city still allow developers to pay the city instead of building affordable housing?
The Council voted to continue the public hearing to Tuesday, September 20. The Planning Board voted to continue their public hearing until Thursday, September 1.
How to Solve Panhandling
Back in the spring, Councilors Michael Cannon, George King and John Stefanini submitted 5 ordinances relative to Downtown Framingham covering billboards, the Community Cares group, opportunity zones and municipal buildings. But the one regarding aggressive solicitation, aka panhandling, has caused the most debate.
The issue: If you drive around Framingham, you have probably noticed an increase in individuals, and in some cases families, panhandling in busy intersections. It isn’t solely a Downtown issue, but a problem on Route 30 near Shoppers World and on Route 9 & Temple Street. This new activity has caused a lot of chatter, especially in the Facebook groups.
According to the Framingham Police, the people we see walking the intersections are a coordinated group and make hundreds of dollars a day, along with free food. They have housing, but have come to Framingham because of how much they earn. These individuals are not the same who are in Downtown Framingham, namely Burkis Square, who are known to the city and the social agencies who are either assistance resistant or already receiving assistance. The newly codified Community Cares group is assisting this population.
What is aggressive solicitation?: The ordinance defines aggressive solicitation “behavior where an individual is in fear of their person or property and where the solicitation involves intimidation and contact.”
Does the ordinance ban all solicitation?: No. It regulates the manner and place of solicitation. It does not criminalize panhandling, either. The ordinance would prohibit solicitation in an aggressive manner on streets and highways including medians and exit ramps, within 10 feet of an ATM machine or facility, and an entrance or exit to a bank or check cashing business during hours of operation or, in a crosswalk.
The ordinance was set for a second reading at the last Council meeting… The first reading of the ordinance passed 10-1 (Long, Cannon, Mallach, Steiner, Stefanini, Ottaviani, Leombruno, King, Alexander, Bryant - Stewart Morales) last month. Both Steiner and Stewart-Morales have expressed concerns with the ordinance, even saying they don’t see panhandling as an issue, along with concern about the welfare of these individuals. It was due to a second at the August 16 meeting but was tabled to allow the new city solicitor to review the measure.
What is next?: We must wait for the new City Solicitor to review and go from there. As someone who drives around Framingham daily, I am greatly concerned that someone is going to get hurt. Walking down Route 30 or Route 9 with a sign is dangerous, for them and the drivers. I am glad the Community Cares working group is now official, and not some on again, off again group, so the city and our community partners have a regular schedule of meetings to help those in our community. It is important to look out for our neighbors, while keeping everyone safe.
Lights! Camera! Action! What is filming Downtown?
The second season of the HBO series Julia, about food legend Julia Child, is back filming in Framingham. They were here for the first series. If you have not seen it, definitely check it out. It was one of my top picks so far this year. Now if the new Ted Lasso series would drop soon…!
Important Dates to Know
Early Voting Begins on Saturday: Nevins Hall in the Memorial Building (150 Concord Street) from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. For more information, check the City Clerk’s website.
Voting By Mail Application Deadline is Monday: The application and directions are found on the Clerk’s website.
Thank you for reading the first issue of The Ham’er! I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday.