Housing Trust
Belmont’s new Housing Production Plan provides a blueprint for achieving 10 percent or greater housing affordability by pursuing these goals:
- Diverse Housing. Create additional affordable housing opportunities for seniors, families, Belmont’s local workforce, and persons with disabilities.
- Affordable Housing. Preserve, expand, and create deed-restricted Affordable Housing for low- income households.
- Equitable and Accessible Housing. Support and invest in programs and policies that address racial disparities in rental and homeownership access and affordability.
- Sustainable Housing. Promote net zero housing construction and carbon neutrality.
- 15-minute Neighborhoods. Promote the development of walkable and bike-able 15-minute neighborhoods.
The plan also sets out various strategies—educational, funding, planning, preservation, zoning, and production—to reach these goals. Among the strategies are these:
- Preservation: Redevelop Belmont Housing Authority (BHA) properties to preserve the public housing and expand affordable housing opportunities and address lack of accessibility.
- Zoning: Allow accessory dwelling units and 2- and 3-family homes by right in the general residence (GR) and single-residence (SR) zoning districts.
- Zoning: Meet or exceed the goals and requirements of the MBTA Communities Act.
- Production: Encourage redevelopment of property owned by religious institutions for Affordable Housing
- Production: Pursue development opportunities on large, vacant lots
- Funding: Aim to spend more than the 10% annual minimum of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding on community housing.
The Housing Trust turns 25 in 2024! Here’s some of what has been achieved in that time:
- Produced 40 affordable rental apartments, three permanently affordable homeownership units, and a Habitat house;
- Led efforts to establish inclusionary housing requirements and to increase them substantially;
- Created and funded an Emergency Rental Assistance Plan during the pandemic to help Belmont’s renters and landlords;
- Negotiated a plan and zoning for the next McLean development responsive to residents’ needs;
- Developed two 5-year housing production plans (2018-2023, 2023-2028) to continue planned progress in meeting housing needs;
- Helped raise the official percentage of affordable housing in Town from 3.3% to 6.2% now, and 7.3% once the McLean development is built; and
- Made educational presentations to numerous audiences in Belmont and to multiple Town Meetings over time.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
MEMBER NAME | EXPIRATION DATE |
---|---|
Thayer Donham; ex-officio - Planning Board | 2023 |
Judith Feins; Co-Chair | 2025 |
Madeline Fraser Cook; Member | 2024 |
Rachel Heller; Member | 2025 |
Mark Kagan; Member | 2025 |
Gloria Leipzig; ex-officio - Housing Authority; Co-Chair | 2023 |
Vacant | 2023 |
Michael Marotta; Member | 2024 |
Benjamin Meshoulam; Member | 2024 |
Tommasina Olson; Member | 2023 |
Paul Rickter; Secretary | 2023 |
Staff Contacts
Name | Title | Phone |
---|---|---|
Christopher Ryan | Director of Planning & Building | (617) 993-2650 |
Delia Ferguson | Staff Planner | (617) 993 2669 |