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Rebecca Schofield submitting comments re: #200102, a proposed inclusionary housing ordinance.
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To the Honorable Board:
My name is Rebecca Schofield, and I lived in Somerville during grad school at Tufts (I am originally from Cambridge, and moved back in the fall of 2014). I am still a member of SCC and work for a local nonprofit affordable housing developer.
Based on my experiences living in both Somerville and Cambridge, I strongly believe that Somerville needs to take action now to preserve the remaining affordability and bring back affordable housing opportunities to maintain local diversity, accessibility, and housing justice. I lived on Summer St in a very small apartment with three other roommates, rent that increased steadily each year, and a whole lot of neighborhood turnover. There were plenty of students and young professionals paying high rents. My landlord lived in Winchester, and many multifamily buildings in my neighborhood were not owner-occupied. Plenty of others in Somerville have discussed these signs of gentrification and displacement of low and moderate income residents, and I believe that it has a negative impact on the quality of housing and communities.
The current inclusionary zoning proposal on the table would help create new affordable housing; help qualified tenants access affordable housing benefits and housing stability; and help folks to use vouchers to stay in the City. I respect Somerville's goals for building up their affordable housing stock through the SomerVision plan and the 100 Homes initiative, and this zoning proposal will help the City meet some ambitious benchmarks.
I also strongly believe that 20% affordability requirements and addressing issues of housing waitlists and fees will NOT curtail development. I think Cambridge has missed many, many opportunities to get more affordable units and funding from developers, and Somerville should set a different tone for cities currently undergoing gentrification. Developers will continue to take advantage of Somerville's residents, displacing families and dissolving neighborhoods, if the City doesn't act.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions about these comments, and I sincerely hope you will take this action to support low and middle income families in Somerville.
Best,
Rebecca Schofield