A recent Superior Court ruling in California could bring new legal challenges to existing Boston housing policies.
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle:
The ruling in the case, Palmer/Sixth Street Properties vs. City of Los Angeles, appears to mean that builders in California would prevail in challenges to local rules mandating that a percentage of units in new apartment buildings be rented at rates affordable to residents earning below the area median income.
It is unclear whether the court ruling also might apply to new condominium projects.
In Boston, Mayor Thomas M Menino has implemented guidelines that require condominium and apartment developers to set-aside a certain percentage of units as “affordable”. I believe the number is now set at 13 percent of total units. Developers have the option to pay into the city’s affordable housing fund instead of setting aside the units and/or can include the units in a development “off-site” (meaning, elsewhere). At some point, there were discussions about increasing the percentage of affordable housing units and/or not allowing developers to have units pushed off-site, but I don’t know the status of those regulations.
Developers, as you can imagine, would probably prefer there not be any restrictions on what prices they can set for their condos or apartments.
As consumers, it matters to us, too. While the concept of “affordable housing” makes sense to just about everyone (and, is something I’ve personally pushed for, in my own neighborhood), just how to make it work is an open question. Does allowing some units to be rented or sold at below-market prices mean the other, market-rate units have to be priced higher, in order to off-set the potential loss in profit? Also, does it actually make any difference to have just a couple units priced below market, when everyone else has to suffer paying full price?
I’m not sure how “legal” the Mayor’s guidelines are, in Boston. Obviously, no developer would want to get on the bad side of City Hall (meaning, the Mayor), so, most likely, no one’s ever questioned it, either in conversation or in court.
Perhaps someone will, now.
Related posts:
- MA Governor’s legislation will preserve affordable housing for many
- Affordable housing units avail at Bryant Back Bay – “lottery” is right
- Artists-only condo housing available in South Boston
- Greater Boston home prices seen as “affordable” to majority
- NYC once again follows Boston’s lead – smoke-free housing on tap
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