Jason Korb: Three Tenets of Affordable Housing
/A Conversation with Form + Place
Lack of housing can be directly tied to many of America’s social problems, such as poverty, homelessness, education disparity, and access to health care. Creating a more diversified housing stock in cities and towns like Newton and Needham is of particular interest right now as people grapple with issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We sat down recently with Jason Korb, President of Capstone Communities, LLC, who has become a sought-out local expert on the issues surrounding affordable housing.
Jason theorized that there are “three tenets of affordable housing”: 1) zoning, 2) funding, and 3) political will. Zoning is critically important in allowing for adequate availability of diverse sites for the creation of affordable housing - whether auxiliary apartments, 2- or 3-family homes, or multifamily residences. Next, funding sources need to be in place. In many communities, funding is available, but often a lot of know-how on both the public and private side of the equation is required to effectively leverage resources. Finally, in the political arena, community leaders need to demonstrate that their cities and towns are “open for business”. Communities that have been successful in achieving good affordable housing genuinely support private public partnerships (P3, not to be confused with PPP) which facilitate development opportunities, support a more diverse demographic and economy, and ultimately increase revenue for the town, and quality of life for all.
The following Q & A highlights some of the salient points that we took away from our conversation.
Port Landing, Cambridge, MA *
1. Zoning
F+P: We heard you speak recently and you called out Cambridge, MA, as a relatively forward-thinking city in terms of supporting new affordable housing. What are they doing that is unique and how does it aid the process?
JK: The city of Cambridge has a citywide housing overlay district, which allows for as-of-right affordable multifamily housing. While this tool does not work for every site, in some cases it makes it much easier to finance and permit a property and, thus, speeds up the process for securing a property, construction and ultimately occupancy.
F+P: The city of Newton is generally known for its high AMI and disproportionally low affordable housing stock. As you know, the City has been hard at work revisiting their zoning ordinances in recent years. What provisions would you suggest that would better promote mixed-income and affordable housing?
JK: The general sentiment among developers is that Newton is a challenging city in which to build affordable housing. I would recommend 2-family zoning by-right, throughout the city, with multifamily zoning in villages, along major corridors, and near transportation hubs, combined with significantly scaled-back parking requirements. I would also suggest creating an affordable housing special permit mechanism, as this allows community input, but also makes it harder for abutters to appeal high-quality affordable housing projects in their neighborhoods.
Zoning reform should also encourage diverse housing stock for a variety of households, from those that are extremely low income to those that are part of the “missing middle”. We especially need to incentivize and require that developments include housing for extremely and very low-income households.
We are all bound by the high cost of housing in Newton. If a person or empty nested-couple wants to down-size, it is nearly impossible to find housing for a reasonable price, relative to the home that they currently occupy. In addition, as someone who grew up and attended public schools in Newton, I have seen how difficult it is for so many of my friends to live in Newton, due to the high cost of housing.
Station Lofts, Brockton, MA *
2. Funding
F+P: What are some of the common funding sources that a developer might seek in pursuing an affordable housing project?
JK: Some sources are more encumbered than others. A typical resource that developers can tap in municipalities that have adopted this mechanism, are funds from the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Local CPA funds are generated by a small property tax (1-3%) and are matched by a statewide CPA Trust Fund. These funds can be used for: 1) open space 2) historic preservation 3) affordable housing, with 10% required to be put towards each category and the balance (70%) used at the City’s discretion for any of the three categories. Newton is a community that has significant CPA resources, and when coupled with other local federal funding (such as HOME and CDBG) they can be used to leverage significant state and federal resources. Unfortunately, it can be challenging to seek approval for CPA and other local resources in a timely way, given the short time that a property might be on the market (or off-market, as a pocket listing). By the time local funding is secured, the property may have already been sold to a market rate developer. The City is exploring the creation of an Affordable Housing Trust, but unless that Trust has decision making and funding authority, I am unclear about how it will expedite the funding process.
F+P: We have done a fair bit of work in Springfield, MA, and have seen how developers are utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and Historic Tax Credits (HTC) there, but they still need to fill the funding gap through other resources/subsidies. How can municipalities be proactive in this regard?
JK: In addition to local funding, there are both state and federal sources. The goal is to get them to work in concert, but often zoning restrictions preclude that from happening. For example, common initiatives to fund 2- and 3-family affordable housing units do not result in an optimal use of funds. A better strategy would be to invest slightly more local money for larger scale projects, which would then leverage the maximum state and federal benefit. More units allow developers to take advantage of tax credits, and ultimately provide more housing. I am currently working in Bridgewater, and it is a great example of a town that invested on the local level to secure additional state and federal funding.
Station Lofts, Brockton, MA *
3. Political Will
F+P: Why is it so difficult to move the conversation forward and what are the real issues?
JK: NIMBY-ism is real. Everyone “supports” affordable housing in theory, but when a new project is proposed in one’s own neighborhood, it can be hard to accept. People will not admit that they are concerned about property values being diminished, for example, but of course this is a big part of the issue, even though all the data show that property values do not decrease when multifamily and affordable housing is constructed in a community. Change is hard for people, which is completely understandable. However, we all must accept change in order to support a meaningful effort to create affordable housing in our communities.
F+P: How do we get past the stigma of affordable housing? Can we make progress through education? Do we have to wait for a catalyzing event?
JK: This is a real quandary. Politicians and developers strive to listen and talk with the “whole community”, but we need to be mindful of who is speaking on behalf of the community. The “community” is made up of individuals, each of whom has his or her own opinions on issues and development proposals. Often the voices at zoning and planning boards do not reflect the diverse perspectives of the entire community, but rather the select few who have the time and fewer family commitments that allow them to participate. It is difficult for parents with young children to attend hearings, since we typically have family obligations that coincide with evening meetings. In addition, many lower income parents work schedules that are not as conducive to attending a hearing at 7pm, for example. Zoning reform could include ways to make the zoning and approvals process more inclusive in order to engage all interested parties, not just those with the time and resources that allow them to speak more loudly than others.
* Architecture and Planning by PCA