By Adam Swift
The city council will continue the discussion of a proposed Housing Production Plan at a future committee of the whole subcommittee meeting.
The plan was discussed during both a subcommittee meeting Monday night and during the public speaking portion of the regular council meeting later that evening.
During the committee of the whole meeting, councillors voted to table the consideration of the housing plan to its next meeting.
Some residents raised concerns about how the plan would affect development in the city with some possible zoning changes, while others urged the council to take action and adopt the plan, citing the need for affordable housing in the city and across the state.
The housing production plan, which has been in the works for over a year, aims to create housing for residents of all income levels as well as sustain the city’s current housing stock.
The city’s department of planning and community development worked on the plan alongside outside consultant JM Goldson and a working group composed mainly of volunteers.
The ultimate goal of the housing production plan is to create a roadmap for building the right kind of housing in the right locations across all income spectrums in a way that can predictably help the city manage its growth as a community, planning and community development director Tom Skwierawski has stated.
Noah Harper, a housing-focused planner from JM Goldson, had stated that a housing production plan is a state-created program that, once it is approved by the state, can help mitigate 40B affordable housing projects in a community.
Approving the plan would not enact any zoning changes, but the plan does recommend zoning reform to support housing production.
Some of those zoning reforms could include reducing the minimum lot size, allowing for two- and three-family homes by right in residential districts, and minimizing or eliminating off-street parking requirements near public transit.
Gail Giuffrida Kingsley, a lifelong Revere resident, said she fears that she might have to leave Revere if the housing plan leads to overdevelopment. She said she was especially concerned about a zoning recommendation that could eliminate side setbacks in some zoning districts.
Giuffrida Kinglsey also noted that Revere has traditionally been a community where people move to from the city to live a more suburban life.
“I feel we should keep it that way,” she said.
However, several people did speak in favor of the housing plan, noting the severe need for housing for residents of all income levels and backgrounds.
Lor Holmes, a housing advocate who was a member of the working group for the plan, said it should not be seen as a take-it-or-leave-it document.
Holmes said it is understandable that the council doesn’t want to move quickly on the plan considering the questions some residents have raised, but said she hopes the council does commit to addressing housing issues in Revere.
“There are a lot of strategies in this plan, and they won’t all work for Revere right now, but we’ve got to do something,” said Holmes.
Council President Anthony Cogliandro said the decision to table discussion on the plan shouldn’t be taken by the public as meaning it will be ignored.
“We are not getting rid of this in any way, shape, or form,” he said. “Please don’t think we are going to be getting rid of the Housing Production Plan, we are going to be talking about it at the next committee of the whole subcommittee.”
