YIMBY News Mid-November 2020

Agenda: Affordable Housing & Winter Hill Redevelopment

Winter Hill Redevelopment Hearing

The City Council's Housing and Commercial Development Committee has scheduled a virtual public hearing for the Winter Hill Urban Renewal Plan on Wednesday, November 18 at 6:00 pm. That means the beginning of the answer to the perennial question "what's up with that abandoned supermarket on Broadway?"Register here, or submit your written feedback to [email protected].

Affordable Housing Overlay Public Comment

City Council's Land Use Committee has completed their draft of the Affordable Housing Overlay district and will be listening to community feedback on Thursday, November 19 at 6:00 pm. This new rule would allow faster approval and more density for buildings that contain 100% affordable housing. The faster approval is critical, since funding sources can vanish during permitting delays, and financing for affordable housing is tenuous at the best of times.You can review slides of their presentation here or check the exact details of what they propose to change in the zoning ordinance here. Further information about the zoning ordinance in general is available at somervillezoning.com.We like this proposal because it's a pragmatic boost to developers of affordable housing and because it spurs the creation of housing at a price point that's increasingly hard to find in Somerville. We also like the additional encouragement to build more apartments in Neighborhood Residence areas within a half-mile of transit. That should help not only with affordability, but also with our city's ongoing climate change mitigation goals.It could be better and bolder. We would love to see more height throughout NR districts and areas that abut them. But this is a great place to start, and we hope you'll express your support by attending the Thursday night meeting online or sending an email to [email protected] to express your support.