Advocacy Group May Sue State On Affordable Housing Restrictions

Citing ''deep concerns," nonprofit Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, or CHAPA, the state's largest affordable-housing advocacy group is threatening to sue the administration of Governor Mitt Romney over recent policy changes that the organization says have ''created a hostile environment for state-subsidized housing." In a letter sent to Douglas Foy, secretary of the Office of Commonwealth Development, CHAPA accuses the administration of ''imposing unreasonable restrictions" on state housing programs. Noting that housing advocates have been pleased with Romney's approach until recently, the letter says that ''CHAPA believes these shifts in policy and practice rise to such a high level of importance that we will be pursuing legislative and legal options in the immediate future."

Spokesman Philip C. Hailer provided a brief statement defending the administration's affordable-housing policy. ''The Romney administration from the beginning has committed to doubling housing starts through smart-growth development," Hailer said. ''We've made significant progress, and we continue in that pursuit recognizing that new strategies are needed to address the housing supply shortage in the Commonwealth. We are continuing to work on innovative approaches, and we welcome assistance from organizations like CHAPA to help us in achieving those goals."

In the April 25 letter, CHAPA laid out concerns the group sees as evidence that Romney has walked away from his two-pronged housing agenda, which seeks to ''fix it first" by repairing crumbling housing and transportation infrastructure before building new structures, and to create ''smart growth" by concentrating new development near mass-transit facilities.

Among the concerns are:

• A suspension of funding for single-family development until at least the fall;
• A cutback of $11 million, from $61 million to $50 million, for public-housing renovations;
• The shutdown of the Capital Improvement and Preservation Fund, which in part preserves low-income housing;
• New limitations on the state's antisnob zoning law, or Chapter 40B, which ''could have the effect of limiting mixed-income housing development in many suburban and rural communities";
• Limits on the quasi-public agency MassDevelopment for funding mixed-income housing;
• ''Arbitrary" time limits and work requirements for 4,500 low-income households receiving rental vouchers;

''CHAPA believes these major shifts in policy will significantly curtail the production of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households and will thwart the governor's goal of doubling housing starts over the next several years," the letter says.

Thomas Callahan, executive director of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, another advocacy group, said he agrees that there has been a decisive change in the administration's policies. Callahan said he views the change as the direct result of a power shift within Romney's cabinet, from the more socially moderate Foy to Eric Kriss, the state's administration and finance secretary, who is viewed as much more conservative. In late 2003, Kriss sparked an uproar among social-services advocates and many Beacon Hill Democrats after delivering a speech in which he said Massachusetts has too many takers of state assistance and not enough givers.

-Adapted from: “Affordable-housing group threatens to sue; Romney team 'Unreasonable restrictions' cited”,By Raphael Lewis, The Boston Globe, April 28, 2005.

04/2005