See the attachments.

From: "Kelley, Craig" <ckelley@cambridgema.gov>
Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at 10:47 AM
To: "<Undisclosed recipients:;>"
Subject: Affordable Housing meetings today and in the future, plus some other information

Hey Everyone:

There are a number of affordable housing related meetings coming up, starting today at 1 PM at the City Council Chambers to discuss inclusionary housing and continuing tonight at the Planning Board at 344 Broadway to discuss the Affordable Housing Overlay. The Ordinance Committee will also talk about the AHO next Tuesday, 2 July, at 5:30, also in the Council Chambers.

I’ve attached a number of memos on issues ranging from new Housing Choice voucher payment schedules to some of the City’s thoughts on the AHO (and schedule of AHO-related meetings) I thought you might want to look through.

I continue to have many of the same thoughts about the Affordable Housing Overlay as I had before, including-

How much price per unit can a developer affordable in land costs to make a project viable
If the AHO is wildly successful, how might we alter it if we decide we want to slow things down (something that we’ve been unable to do at Alewife)
What might the impact be of investment organizations who, in a global market, may regard these new rules as an opportunity to put more money into Cambridge property
What are the opportunities for the redevelopment of land already owned and built on by affordable housing developers but now offering new and possibly significant redevelopment opportunities. When I see a lot with a building on it, I think it’s full. Other people understand that one can, literally, put buildings in the trash and if removing existing buildings creates a logistically simple and financially realistic way for developers to create more affordable housing projects, I would think the markets would steer them in that direction. Which might mean that rather than seeing a push of affordable housing into the larger lots of West Cambridge, we would see a spurt of redevelopment in the Eastern part of Cambridge as existing affordable housing developments are replaced with denser ones.
How do management fees impact a developer’s incentive to build AHO properties. Even if the margin is thin for building a property, if you have a lucrative, long-term management contract for the property the non-profit aspect of a company may start to look far more financially motivated.
The advisory nature of project review is likely to result in better buildings than if such review did not exist but is unlikely to counter the financial momentum of larger developments with more units with the result that we may see properties maxed out for building mass and also being somewhat unattractive, dwarfing nearby lots and so forth.
While the AHO talks about four stories in many districts, it seems like a fifth habitable floor could reasonably be put on the ground level, as long as it’s less than 4’ above grade, so we’re really talking about 5 story buildings. If I am right, and no one has told me I’m wrong, this ‘four story focus’ seems a bit misleading in terms of helping people understand how impactful AHO developments might be.

I don’t have any easy answers for these issues. There is a real press of people and jobs towards urban areas, especially coastal ones like Cambridge and the greater-Boston region. I’ve biked through small and mid-sized towns from the Canadian border to Florida and from Pittsburgh to DC and seen more empty, dilapidated and abandoned buildings than I thought existed in places that, not too long ago, used to be thriving. It is pretty scary to see just how fragile communities can be. The jobs and people Cambridge and the greater-Boston region attracts from other parts of the Country, and the world, help make us the wonderful place we are but it’s a really expensive place for both jobs and people, as well as non-profits and just about everything else. I suppose the question is, is the AHO the best, or even an adequate, solution to some of the challenges this growth brings us. And if not, what is a better solution? Can it be changed and still be useful? If passed as is, will we find ourselves in a feedback loop with negative consequences we didn’t anticipate but which, given zoning’s super-majority requirement regarding voting, we cannot change?

Ultimately, I think it’s important for all of us to have the same basic understanding of what the AHO can and can’t do. If something is in our zoning, we should assume it’s going to happen and not get upset when it does. And if something isn’t in our zoning, we shouldn’t express angst that it doesn’t happen because, at the end of the day, zoning is the rule book for what our City looks like. If we think the AHO is a good idea at least partially because it’ll only create 45 units or so a year, then let’s codify that number. If we think the AHO’s resulting in hundreds of new units a year would be a success, then let’s be clear that that’s what we hope will happen. People can disagree on what they like or don’t like about the AHO, but first we have to understand it.

Anyway, if you can’t make the meetings but want to share your thoughts with the Council, you can email all of us at Council@Cambridgema.gov.

All the best,

Craig

All emails to and from this City address should be considered to be subject to Massachusetts’s Public Records laws. To be removed from this list, click here. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you think may be interested in it. Also, I have scheduled office hours in Central Square on Monday’s from 1-3 PM and Thursdays from 9:30-11:30 AM, but please email CKelley@Cambridgema.gov before coming to confirm before showing up.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019	1:00 PM	The Housing Committee will conduct a public hearing to discuss the Affordable Housing Trust’s recommendations for the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program’s preferences on selecting residents for available units.
		THIS HEARING WILL BE TELEVISED
		(Sullivan Chamber)

Tuesday, July 2, 2019	5:30 PM	The Ordinance Committee will conduct a public hearing to discuss a proposed amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to create an Affordable Housing Overlay District.
		THIS HEARING WILL BE TELEVISED
		(Sullivan Chamber)