Housing

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IT’S THE LONGEST running tragicomedy on the Boston area political stage. We desperately need to build more housing to accommodate growth and temper a price run-up that puts home ownership out of reach for thousands. Everyone seems to agree on that. Yet no one can seem to break the logjam — or jams — that keep it from happening.

The current focus is a housing bill proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker that would allow local zoning changes to be approved based on a majority vote of the local governing body, not two-thirds support as is currently the case. It’s a small step toward beating back the NIMBY forces that often look to block new development, but one that might open the door to lots of projects that get shot down under the existing system.

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Support for the change is so broad that the measure even looked like it had a chance of making it through the Legislature before the end of the year, even though the objection of a single member can block bills during the so-called “informal sessions” lawmakers are now holding. What’s the obstacle? Lawmakers who want the state to go farther in enabling more housing. They worry that passing the governor’s modest proposal could kill any appetite, particularly in the House, for more sweeping change in the coming session.

A recent Globe editorial suggested a compromise: Passing the governor’s bill now, with a promise from House leaders to “tackle more systemic reform” when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Four years ago, Boston has set an ambitious agenda of new housing construction, a target city leaders raised further in September in the face of enormous population growth. One message city officials sent at that time was that Boston couldn’t address the regional housing needs on its own.

This week, that problem drew the attention of the Wall Street Journal, with a story whose headline succinctly described the challenge: “Boston Doesn’t Have Enough Housing. Can It Get the Suburbs to Help?” (Full story behind paywall)

It describes a development battle in Ashland, where residents voted a local tax increase to buy a parcel of land and thwart plans for an apartment building there. “People were upset about the tree clearing, the fact that there were going to be four-story buildings close to the road, and that would really transform that vista,” the town manager tells the Journal.

As Roseanne Roseannadanna reminded us, “It’s always something.”

The effect of all this, of course, is to further constrict the already limited housing supply in the region — and drive up its cost.

Meet the Author Michael Jonas Executive Editor , CommonWealth About Michael Jonas Michael Jonas has worked in journalism in Massachusetts since the early 1980s. Before joining the CommonWealth staff in early 2001, he was a contributing writer for the magazine for two years. His cover story in CommonWealth's Fall 1999 issue on Boston youth outreach workers was selected for a PASS (Prevention for a Safer Society) Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Michael got his start in journalism at the Dorchester Community News, a community newspaper serving Boston's largest neighborhood, where he covered a range of urban issues. Since the late 1980s, he has been a regular contributor to the Boston Globe. For 15 years he wrote a weekly column on local politics for the Boston Sunday Globe's City Weekly section. Michael has also worked in broadcast journalism. In 1989, he was a co-producer for "The AIDS Quarterly," a national PBS series produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, and in the early 1990s, he worked as a producer for "Our Times," a weekly magazine program on WHDH-TV (Ch. 7) in Boston. Michael lives in Dorchester with his wife and their two daughters. About Michael Jonas Michael Jonas has worked in journalism in Massachusetts since the early 1980s. Before joining the CommonWealth staff in early 2001, he was a contributing writer for the magazine for two years. His cover story in CommonWealth's Fall 1999 issue on Boston youth outreach workers was selected for a PASS (Prevention for a Safer Society) Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Michael got his start in journalism at the Dorchester Community News, a community newspaper serving Boston's largest neighborhood, where he covered a range of urban issues. Since the late 1980s, he has been a regular contributor to the Boston Globe. For 15 years he wrote a weekly column on local politics for the Boston Sunday Globe's City Weekly section. Michael has also worked in broadcast journalism. In 1989, he was a co-producer for "The AIDS Quarterly," a national PBS series produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, and in the early 1990s, he worked as a producer for "Our Times," a weekly magazine program on WHDH-TV (Ch. 7) in Boston. Michael lives in Dorchester with his wife and their two daughters.

“The situation threatens a fundamental social contract. That contract says if you work, you can find a decent place to live. And if you’ve got a good job and work really hard, you can achieve the American dream — home ownership. That contract is void here.”

That depressing appraisal came from Nicolas Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. In this CommonWealth cover story in 2002.

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