BDTC Meeting May 26th, 2024
In Attendance: Linda Levin-Scherz (Chair), Michael McNamara (Secretary)., Debbie D.,
Anne P., Molly Aalyson., Marc Sacks, Jeff L.S., Mike Crowley, Ted Dukkas, Joanne C.,
Richard W., Dan D., Dick M, Frank F., Peter G., Steve W., Ruth S., Kathy Q, Anne Q., Helen
B., Ann Mooney., Rachel Heller (Guest Speaker)
1) Introduction
a) Rachel Heller- Co-Chair of Housing Trust: Building Belmont’s future
b) Overviewing of Housing Production Plan (HPP): Meet local housing
need/proactively influencing development to comply with 40B (have at least
10% of our housing stock is affordable).
i) If we meet it, we can get “safe harbor”, if not we can get “hostile”
development(s) where developers can note we have not met our
obligations and can override local control to build housing which may
not meet our needs. If we want to be able to affect development, and
use our own judgement about what we want, we should get to 10%
and “Safe Harbor”.
2) Rachel Heller (Continued)
a) HHP Findings: Comprehensive: Data-> Public Outreach-
>Recommendations->Deliverable->Approved by the State (MA).
b) AMI – Area Median Income: The Median household income for a Geographic
region.
c) Our area’s AMI is $140,000
d) B) 80% of AMI is Low Income (LI), 50%-30% of AMI is Very low income (VLI)
(example 40B) and below 30% AMI is Extremely Low Income (ELI).
3) Rachel Heller (Cont)
a) Cost Burdened: When paying over 30% of your income on your housing you
are cost burdened.
b) 31% of Belmont Households are cost burdened.
c) Our total population went up 9% over the last ten years
d) However, variations in populations by age
e) Seniors: UP
f) Young People: DOWN
g) 25–35 year-olds: DOWN
4) Rachel Heller (Cont)
a) We produce 50% of the housing that we did in the 1980’s
b) We are increasing diversity in town (a strength).
c) Census 2010: our town demographics 90% white, other racial groups <10%
d) Census 2020: Our town demographic 70%, 12% Asian, 11%
Black/Latino/Native American.
5) Rachel Heller (Cont)
a) Household incomes in Belmont are quite high
b) BUT/AND the gap between homeowners and renters’ incomes has shrunk
c) This is unfortunately not good news
d) Potential homeowners can’t break into the market, and buy their first house
e) They increasingly see/find homeownership as out of their reach and must
rent instead (not good).
6) Rachel Heller (Cont)
a) Most people in Belmont can’t afford to live here
b) Belmont has 31% of our population being low income (as defined above)
c) We have 6.6% of our housing stock as affordable, we need 10% for safe
harbor
d) We have 673 housing units on the SHI (Subsided Housing Income)
7) Rachel Heller (Cont)
a) Goals: needs more housing + more diversity in housing types we build.
b) We also need more affordable housing, we also need to preserve what we
have, and expand (also we could consider things like creating deed
restricted affordable housing for housing with low incomes).
c) We also need Equitable/accessible housing, and we need to support and
invest in programs and policies that address racial disparities in rental and
homeownership
d) There has been a long history of housing and renting discrimination against
People of Color (POC), including Redlining (Blocking or restricting housing
opportunities for POC), GI Housing Bill (which was not available for POC,
while white families were able to get cheap loans to have a ladder into the
homeowners market), and renting discrimination (which was made illegal by
Civil Rights legislation, but was hard to prove, and enforce).
e) If we don’t work to undue some of these legacies of discrimination and
disinheriting of homeownership by POC, we will be locking in these terrible
outcomes that lock POC out of Home ownership.
8) Rachel Heller (Cont)
a) MBTA Housing Law
b) Makes it so towns and communities allow for more housing to be built
c) The state also created an affordability commission to focus on helping
families
9) Rachel Heller (cont) MBTA Housing Law
a) Creates home at different price points, for elderly to downsize, renters can
become homeowners, people who go to school can afford to live in our town,
and more housing and choice of housing for disabled residents and people
who want to move here.
b) Belmont MBTA plan includes all three Belmont Housing Authorities, also
properties in the 3A district.
c) Including underutilized parcels named in housing production plan (HPP)
particularly larger lots (20+ housing units, we would more affordable units).
d) Belmont could get state grants and get aid because we work with the state
and are not resisting the MBTA law