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Quick thread on how wild it is to even entertain the thought of allowing a handful of municipalities to help hold up the Housing Choice bill, outlined by @jonchesto here https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2019/11/21/baker-housing-bill-stalls-again-state-house/SKTDr8wdr519ghdv21qiON/story.html?event=event25
MA needs to build more homes because the state is growing. We’re growing new jobs and adding new residents. These people need places to live.
Since 2010, Mass. has added 4.1 new jobs for every new home built, and 3.2 new residents for every new home built. More people are competing for fewer homes, driving up prices and harming working families.
We’re growing, and that should be a good thing, but growth is not sustainable if home prices push our workforce to competitor states with greater housing choices.
Under the Housing Choice legislation, no community is compelled to zone for growth. All the bill does is make it easier for communities that want to grow smartly, to follow through.
Right now, communities like Arlington, Salem, Cambridge and Newton can’t modernize their zoning because 2/3 is an impossible threshold.
