The Commonwealth is experiencing a housing crisis. The median price of a home in the Greater Boston Area is now $910,000, forcing many people – especially young professionals – to move out of state. At Town Meeting on May 6, Hopkinton residents will be asked vote on a new zoning overlay to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, which could bring up to 750 multi-family housing units to the town in the coming years.
On this episode of The HopTake, we are joined by Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities, Ed Augustus, whose department is charged in part with overseeing the implementation of the MBTA Communities Act. Also joining Peter as co-host is Chair of Hopkinton’s Planning Board, Gary Trendel.
Secretary Augustus shares his perspective on the housing problem, how the MBTA Communities Act can solve them, how other towns are grappling with the new law, and the consequences if Hopkinton chooses not to comply.
I won’t pretend to know what’s driving the housing shortage, but I do know that according to a quick Google search, the state population had dropped slightly over the past couple of years. One of my main concerns is that the ripple effect of increased housing is increased schools, which then means increased taxes, which means Hopkinton becomes even more unaffordable for many. We are already hearing from friends and neighbors about leaving town as soon as their kids graduate so they can get into a more affordable situation, and we don’t like seeing these people having to uproot because of what we already are dealing with. This heavy hand of government is going to crush many, and the annual crop of for sale signs in the spring is going to have a bumper crop lasting years.