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ACTION ALERT:  
Support Somerville's Proposed 
Housing Linkage Fee

May 22nd, 2013

Greetings!

 

Every year, more and more families leave Somerville because they cannot afford to live here. Today, we have an opportunity to significantly increase the amount of funds available for creating affordable housing and we need your voice to make it happen.

 

Please take a moment to send a letter to the following City staff and decision-makers (even a 2 sentence email stating your position goes a long way in the tally!) asking them to support the Mayor's proposed increase in the housing linkage fee to $5.15. Comments are due this Friday, 5/24 at 12:00 pm. (be sure to include your name and address)

 

George Proakis, Director of Planning, gproakis@somervillema.gov

Alderman Tom Taylor, tftald32@aol.com 

Alderman Dennis Sullivan, aldermansullivan@aol.com

Alderman Tony LaFuente, tony@tonylafuente.com 

 

 

Somerville's housing linkage fee- a critical source of funding for affordable housing that is extracted from commercial development- is lower than both Cambridge and Boston's and has not been increased in 10 years.  With the surge of new development being called for by the City and an increasingly cost-burdened population, the time to take action to ensure that housing opportunities will be affordable to everyone in Somerville is now. 

 

Talking Points to Include

 

I support the Mayor's proposed increase in the Housing Linkage Fee from $3.91 to $5.15 per square foot, and the recommendation to lower the threshold to 20,000 square feet because:

 

  • People are leaving Somerville in search of more affordable places to live. The cost of rental housing continues to outpace the general rate of inflation, and condo conversions continue to replace rental housing.
  • The Affordable Housing Trust Fund does not have enough resources to meet demand. The current balance of the fund is only enough to build about 3 units of affordable rental housing. Meanwhile, almost half of renters in Somerville are spending more than they can afford (over 1/3 of their incomes) on housing.
  • Planned new development offers massive opportunity to create for low and moderate income housing. The City's new Comprehensive Plan calls for 10.5 million square feet of new development over the next 20 years. Now is the perfect time to increase the funds in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in order to capitalize on this growth.
  • The new Linkage Fee of $1.40/sf proposed to contribute to a Jobs Trust Fund is also something that would complement this proposal well and should also be strongly considered.  

Thank you for taking action to support a vibrant and diverse 
Somerville for everyone! 

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Questions? 
Contact Rene Mardones, rmardones@somervillecdc.org or 617-776-0724
 
 
SAVE THE DATE: Thursday June 6th, 2013 
SCC/Cathartes proposed development at 181/197 Washington Street to go before the Somerville Planning Board for vote! Details TBD.