![A]()
fter 25 years as a residential
home builder, Gerald E. Welch said he grew tired of the acrimony that so
often accompanies development projects, particularly those filed under the
state's affordable housing law, Chapter 40B.
''I realized how important affordable housing is in the state of
Massachusetts,'' the North Andover resident said. ''And I've witnessed
these adversarial proceedings. Most of them end up in litigation. I
thought there's got to be a better way of doing this.''
Welch has found what he hopes will be that better way.
He has spearheaded the founding of a nonprofit development corporation
whose mission is to work with communities, rather than against them, to
build low-cost housing.
The Massachusetts Housing Opportunities Corp. is run by a team of
development and housing specialists assembled during the past year by
Welch.
In addition to Welch, who is president of the organization, team
members include former state Representative Michael P. Cahill of Beverly,
who had served as House chairman of the Legislature's Committee on Housing
and Urban Development, and Mark Bobrowski, a professor at New England
School of Law and recognized expert on Massachusetts zoning rules.
Others involved include Michael J. Larkin Jr. of Tewksbury, a real
estate attorney and former Reading Appeals Board chairman; Bud Jackson, a
Virginia-based communications consultant who formerly lived in Haverhill;
and Michael Ivas, a Worcester marketing consultant.
The group has had preliminary talks with 18 communities that have
expressed interest in working with it. Among them are Arlington,
Billerica, Methuen, and North Reading.
Welch said the group's intention is to help expand the supply of
affordable housing, but to do it in a way that is free of the
contentiousness that frequently surrounds Chapter 40B projects.
Under Chapter 40B, the so-called antisnob affordable housing law,
developers whose projects include affordable housing can skirt local
zoning rules in communities where less than 10 percent of the housing
stock is considered affordable under state standards.
As developers have used the law more and more, suburban officials have
protested and Governor Mitt Romney has appointed a task force to study
possible changes in the law.
''The biggest problem with 40B is that it takes control away from
municipalities,'' said Welch, who has developed 40B projects. ''They spend
years and years on these master plans. And 40B comes down the pike and
throws that out of the window.''
He said the approach used by the Massachusetts Housing Opportunities
Corp. will be to help give back that control to communities by partnering
with them on projects. The organization will help local officials develop
an affordable housing plan. It will then use its own expertise and
resources to carry out the plan. The organization does not charge.
''Our premise is the community knows best what works for itself,''
Jackson said. ''We come in and work with them to build affordable housing
that fits the character of the community.''
The hope is to enable a community to reach 10 percent affordable
housing, which would protect it from unwanted development.
Massachusetts Housing Opportunities Corp. officials say that because it
is nonprofit, the organization can undertake projects that would not be
attractive to a private developer because of the limited return involved.
It can also make a greater percentage of units in any one development
affordable if so desired by the community. Chapter 40B requires at least
25 percent of units in a development to be affordable.
In addition, Jackson asserted that a community can turn a larger profit
by developing municipally owned land with the nonprofit organization than
by selling to a for-profit developer since the organization will return to
the community income that exceeds costs.
Massachusetts Housing Opportunities Corp. officials said they plan to
cover their costs through a variety of funding sources, including private
donations, grants, and project income.
They said they anticipate in most cases the community with which they
are partnering will seek the comprehensive permit provided for under
Chapter 40B, a step that would provide a shortcut to any needed zoning
changes. By working through Chapter 40B, the community can also count all
the units in an approved rental housing project toward its 10 percent
goal, including units that are market rate.
While a Chapter 40B application would face local zoning board review,
Jackson said that given a partnership between his group and the community,
it is expected a proposed development would meet with the board's
approval. He said if there were any appeal to the state of a zoning board
ruling, it would be initiated by the town and not the organization.
''As a nonprofit organization that provides a free service to
Massachusetts cities and towns, MHOC has enormous benefit for communities
to take back control over development while also increasing affordable
housing,'' said state Senator Steven C. Pangiotakos, a Lowell Democrat who
is Senate vice chairman of the Legislature's Housing and Community
Development Committee.
Curt Bellavance, Methuen's acting community development director, said
the city has had preliminary discussions with the group, ''but what
they've said seems to be positive. So we are hoping to take it to the next
step.''
''We face the reality that Chapter 40B is in existence and we would
rather be proactive in dealing with developers,'' he said.
Bellavance said Methuen, which has seen several Chapter 40B projects,
is nearing its 10 percent threshhold.
''As we do that, we want to get some projects in that we are happy to
see,'' he said. ''We want to do some `smart growth' developing. There are
some areas that are more urban and that have better public transportation
that may be more suited toward affordable housing. And we're hoping that
with MHOC, we can do it in a cooperative manner.''
Cahill said the Massachusetts Housing Opportunities Corp. approach fits
with rules revised last year for Chapter 40B, which allow communities that
develop an affordable housing plan and increase their affordable housing
by at least three-quarters of a percent each year to be exempt from
Chapter 40B requirements.
Those rules ''envisioned and anticipated this whole model of the
community partnering with an organization like MHOC,'' he
said.
.gif){kind=spacer}
