How would you make Newton a more affordable place to live?

Leading up to the November 4 local election, the Newton Beacon asked candidates in competitive elections for mayor and city council:

How would you make Newton a more affordable place to live, for seniors and others?

John Chaimanis, City Council Candidate, Ward 4 At-Large: Newton is an expensive community to live in because it is so desirable.  A 2016 report prepared by RKG for the City of Newton concluded that, “The imbalance of demand and supply is so great that the City could not physically accommodate the development needed to affect pricing in a substantial manner. To this point, a combination of preservation and new construction will be necessary to ensure some level of price diversity within Newton.” A few areas I think we need to explore more thoroughly: Preserve the naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) choices; Encourage developers to include a mix of smaller sized housing units; Strive to provide more ownership opportunities, as opposed to the recent trend favoring rentals; Ensure our inclusive zoning ordinance stays close to market

Cyrus Dahmubed, City Council Candidate, Ward 4 At-Large: I’d encourage the creation of new, sustainable housing near commercial and village centers, and around transportation. Following the laws of supply and demand, this will help to slow the increase in the cost of housing, especially given the regional strategy and context we are now operating in. I’d support an exemption to Prop 2 ½ overrides specifically for seniors who live on a limited income and are still paying mortgages on homes below the city’s median single-family home value of $1.7 million. My Small Business Preservation Plan, and improvements to streamlining permitting and approvals, would help make our local business more affordable for residents and decrease the cost of creating new housing, which is translated to residents through rent and sale prices. Finally, I’d seek to combine priorities around preservation of our trees with preserving less expensive and moderately scaled homes in our neighborhoods, particularly in cases where no net-new housing is being created.

Lisa Gordon, City Council Candidate, Ward 6 At-Large: Newton must consider how all policies affect the City’s overall cost of living, including housing, energy, parking, and utility costs. We must provide a range of housing and ownership opportunities throughout Newton. For example, I am a strong supporter of adaptive reuse as a way to create more housing options and potentially lower the cost of acquisition and construction. We need holistic views of policies that weigh all impacts carefully.

Josh Krintzman, City Council Candidate, Ward 4 At-Large: Increasing affordable housing options is directly tied to enhancing the vitality of our village centers. The easiest way to make housing more affordable in Newton is for the City Council and Mayor to implement a mix of strategies including incentives for developers to build more affordable units, zoning reforms to allow higher density where appropriate, and repurposing underutilized buildings like the Armory as housing. Other cities have demonstrated that investing in housing supply is the most lasting way to put downward pressure on housing costs. In addition, we should expand education and enrollment in the GoGo Newton program to help seniors navigate the city with transportation assistance and encourage local businesses to offer a senior discount.

Julie Irish, City Council Candidate, Ward 5: We need a range of strategies to help seniors and others remain in Newton. Supporting naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) and learning from other cities that have effective naturally occurring retirement communities (NORC) will help seniors age in place. That also means expanding assistance with home modifications and access to transportation. We must explore more private and public partnerships, like the successful West Newton Armory project, to create housing options that meet community needs. Encouraging accessory dwelling units (ADUs) where they make sense, without compromising neighborhood character, can also provide more affordable choices for families and seniors. We should also create incentives for developers to build smaller, more affordable homes for both renters and homeowners.

Marc Laredo, Mayoral Candidate: Newton is a highly desirable city, and that also makes it a more expensive place to live. We have approved multiple new developments in the city (and I expect more in the future) and those will help provide additional housing options. Making Newton more affordable also means being thoughtful and careful about tax increases and fees for city services.

Garry Miller, City Council Candidate, Ward 5: The cost of housing is the main driver of unaffordability in Newton. We must continue to build new housing of all types to ensure that seniors have appropriate and affordable housing options if they wish to downsize. Housing costs are burdensome to all our residents, and we must build housing of all kinds to address this crisis. I am particularly concerned about the impact on young families who want to start a life in Newton and cannot afford to buy or rent a home here. This is another reason to work to hold the line on taxes as well – many people including seniors simply cannot afford to pay more in taxes given their fixed or limited incomes.

Sean Roche, City Council Candidate, Ward 6 At-Large: Newton’s housing has become unaffordable to too many because of years of housing demand outstripping supply and because for years we have made it illegal to build the kind of housing that best serves seniors and others who cannot afford large, expensive homes. We can start to make housing more affordable, as part of a regional housing market, by increasing the supply of housing and ensuring that it’s the right kind of housing: what’s called missing middle housing. Specifically, we should update our zoning code to expand where we allow triplex, quadplex, and other moderately sized homes, particularly around our village centers and commercial areas. A key engine for building deed-restricted, moderately affordable homes is inclusionary zoning. We need to continue to encourage development that builds affordable homes along with the market-rate homes we also need. I would be in favor of raising the CPC rate to create more funds to build deeply affordable homes.