I wanted to add my voice to the housing discussion that has been going on here
over the past few weeks.
Affordable housing is a priority that's been close to my heart since moving to
Lincoln, and especially as I raise my kids here. I want my kids to grow up in a
place where they have access to many different points of view, backgrounds,
life experiences, and identities. I want them to live in spaces where they
practice empathy and understanding across different perspectives daily, and
work to deconstruct their privilege and build a more just community.
Unfortunately housing policy in our country and in our town has historically
been a barrier to this – it’s worked to enshrine privilege and exacerbate
inequality. We’ve chosen to maintain the segregation by race and wealth created
by redlining and other explicitly racist policies through exclusionary zoning.
I believe that creating denser and more affordable housing in Lincoln is our
most critical tool to begin to right these historical wrongs, and create the
kind of town that I want my children to grow up in.
Committing to the rezoning that the HCA requires is an important start. But,
zoning does not equal housing. As I review the proposals on the table at town
meeting in a few weeks to create more housing density in areas of Lincoln, my
most critical criteria will be this: will developers come and actually build
the housing that each proposal allows? The HCAWG has worked hard to develop
proposals in the spirit of a yes to this question -- and I believe the only
clear "yes" is Lincoln Station. Rezoning proposals that do not include Lincoln
Station are far less likely to actually result in more housing. As such, in my
view, these options don't align with a vote in favor of affordable housing. And
as has been noted in previous discussions, although only 10% of new development
is required to be affordable, as a town with so many voices in favor of
affordable housing, we can choose to subsidize a higher percentage as we've
done with Oriole Landing. But first the additional housing needs to be built --
and it likely won't be outside of Lincoln Station.
I ask too that you consider this criteria as you weigh the options on the
table. Many towns will try to do as little as possible as they comply with the
HCA. They will define minimum viable units, they will tuck housing into areas
that they know will never be developed. I don't think this is who we are as a
town. I hope that we choose instead to use the opportunity the HCA gives us to
not just comply with zoning but to create housing and moreover to create
affordable housing, and in doing so, continue to share and build our town with
an even broader and more diverse community.
Kristen Ferris
Sent from my iPhone
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