image description

BRPC: State's Housing Choice Program No Good For Berkshires

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Gov. Charlie Baker is looking to curb a housing crisis in the Boston metro area through his Housing Choice Initiative.
 
But the program will be used little, if at all, in the Berkshires where the issue isn't so much the need for new housing but for rehabilitation of older housing. But this area does rely heavily on such programs as MassWorks, Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities, and the state Department of Transportation's capital and Complete Streets programs. Language in the Housing Choice Initiative puts the Berkshires at a disadvantage for those.
 
Those grant programs are competitive among communities across the state. The Baker administration is now saying that should a community participate in the Housing Choice Initiative program, it would receive "bonus points" on its application for those other programs.
 
"We are not going to change the desire of the Baker administration to develop a funding mechanism to build housing in the eastern part of the state. We just want to make sure we are not penalized," Pittsfield's Department of Community Development Director Deanna Ruffer told the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's Regional Issues Committee.
 
"The program is already based upon inequities. Take out that bonus and then we'll be quiet."
 
Rents, particularly in the Boston area, have been skyrocketing. Baker's program incentivizes community to construct new housing units with a goal of creating 135,000 new units by 2025. Communities can receive designation as a housing choice community which will open them up for technical assistance grants for planning, zoning, and infrastructure to promote housing developments. 
 
BRPC says that's all well and good, and recognizes the housing issues. But in the Berkshires, the population is declining and there are adequate levels of housing now.
 
But, the housing stock is aged and needs repair. BRPC said a bigger need here would be for a program to help with housing renovation projects, which this one doesn't address.
 
"Oftentimes when things are generated in Boston they have good intentions capture a good portion of the state but we here in Berkshire County have our own set of real-time challenges and this legislation doesn't touch that," said New Marlborough representative James Mullen. 
 
BRPC is now writing a letter requesting changes to the program not so much to address the Berkshires' need, but more focused on removing those bonus points so that the Berkshires doesn't lose competitiveness in grant programs that do address local needs.
 
The program is coupled with a piece of legislation that BRPC does see as potentially helpful. The proposed rewritten law looks to increase the tools a city or town has to permit housing projects through zoning and drops the threshold for housing-related bylaw changes to receive approval.
 
"It is a piece of legislation that has the potential to benefit every single community in the Commonwealth," Ruffer said.
 
Zoning laws tend to be an issue state lawmakers don't take up. It can get complicated and detailed. For years comprehensive land-use legislation has been talked about but never taken on in earnest.
 
The Housing Choice Initiative has led to a focus on the zoning for housing-related projects and updating is welcomed from local planners. Ruffer said taking small chunks of zoning to be updated at a time may prove to be a better way of overhauling all of the laws than trying a comprehensive take all at once
 
BRPC Executive Director Nathaniel Karns suggested the organization write to lawmakers in support of the legislation, but at the same time urge them to continue with other zoning issues as well. Karns fears that address those outdated land use regulations will go into a "deep freeze" should this legislation pass. 
 
"This is widely applied legislation that will benefit a lot of people. Let's work on more of that," Pittsfield representative Sheila Irvin said.
 
Williamstown representative Andrew Groff pointed out somewhat of a flaw in the language he felt could open towns up to challenges, which BRPC is also looking to be clarified in the language. 

Tags: affordable housing,   housing,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A few projects are not getting funded by the Community Preservation Committee because of a tight budget.

The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.

"It's a tough year," Chair Danielle Steinmann said.

The panel made its recommendations on Monday after several meetings of presentations from applications. They will advance to the City Council for final approval.  

Two cemetery projects were scored low by the committee and not funded: A $9,500 request from the city for fencing at the West Part Cemetery as outlined in a preservation plan created in 2021 and a $39,500 request from the St. Joseph Cemetery Commission for tombstone restorations.

"I feel personally that they could be pushed back a year," Elizabeth Herland said. "And I think they're both good projects but they don't have the urgency."

It was also decided that George B. Crane Memorial Center's $73,465 application for the creation of a recreational space would not be funded. Herland said the main reason she scored the project low was because it didn't appear to benefit the larger community as much as other projects do.

There was conversation about not funding The Christian Center's $34,100 request for heating system repairs but the committee ended up voting to give it $21,341 when monies were left over.

The total funding request was more than $1.6 million for FY24 and with a budget of $808,547, only about half could be funded. The panel allocated all of the available monies, breaking down into $107,206 for open space and recreation, $276,341 for historic preservation, and $425,000 for community housing.

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories