THE MALDEN ADVOCATE – Friday, June 14, 2019 Page 5 ~ LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR ~ Former city councillor disagrees with mayor’s op-ed Dear Reader, Mayor reverses position on Housing Development in a Stunning Win for Malden’s Citizens! Mayor Christenson, in a campaign Op. Ed., last week, announced what appears to have been a major change of heart and has stopped supporting the new MAPC driven, Inner Core Housing Development Plan, which called for thousands of additional housing units in Malden. In a related email to the Mayors Op. Ed., obtained through a Freedom of Information request to MAPC dated March 5th 2019, he finally acknowledged the negative impact the plan would have on education funding in Malden. This comes months after 185,000 units for the inner core of Greater Boston was signed on in Phase 1 of the plan by 15 Mayors, including Mayor Christenson, in October 2018. In the Op. Ed. he stated the following: “As your Mayor, I am one of fifteen Mayor’s on a Metro Mayor’s task force that deals with many regional issues. One of these issues is housing. Many of my colleagues feel like their communities have the appetite for additional housing production, and I respect that and the mission of the group as a whole. But let me be clear. When the vote was taken asking specifically for Malden to commit to additional housing production, my vote was no.” What is most remarkable, as his Op Ed tells only part of the story, is the Mayor’s stated reason for voting no, when he communicated his vote via the email three months ago to MAPC (see attached email): “The impact on areas like traffic and education are two of the most often cited concerns. As an example unless the Chapter 70 (education aid from state) formula is changed, communities like Malden can be unknowingly affected by high density development because of the impact it might have on the Target Local Contribution; under some circumstances it can result over the long term in near complete loss of any incremental tax revenue to a reduction in Chapter 70 Aid. We would be happy to discuss this with anyone who may be interested.” As negative impact on education was well known after the “Growth Management Study of 2017” was completed, during the Housing Moratorium, it begs the question: what changed for Mayor Christenson and what new information is he aware of that has not been fully disclosed? Why were the citizens of Malden not informed of his vote, against more large scale housing development in Malden three months ago in March? More specifically, if the Mayor who stated in the email “would be happy to discuss this with anyone who may be interested,” would that not include the City Council of Malden and most importantly the 68% who voted for the moratorium who wanted nothing less than a halt to more apartment development? The Mayor, based upon his own words, now appears to have come in line with the majority of residents on housing development, which is very positive. The information he possesses and which he clearly references regarding the negative impact to school funding, of multi-unit development, needs to be shared openly with the City Council and Citizens. For nearly four years his office and the Malden Redevelopment Authority, at his direction, has pushed further mass development predicting that halting it would have draconian effects on Malden. The Mayor should be commended for his “no” vote but complete transparency regarding the reasons for his decision to halt Lawnmower Tune-Up and Repairs • We repair all makes & models! • Authorized • FREE PICK-UP for all Tune-Ups! all m • We r d K-U makes & mo ma akes & mo D KU for all Tun UP fo 1039 Broadway, Revere • (781) 289-6466 Biker’s Outfitter (781) 289 , ee (8) 89 www.bikersoutfitter.com dine drink gather Dealer support for more mass development must be forthcoming. The citizens have a right to the same information he was so willing to share with other non-Malden residents on March 5th, We also need to be sure his new found support is not just an election year political promise soon to be forgotten. Signed, Neil Kinnon Former Ward 6 Councillor enjoy THE NORTH SHORE'S HOTTEST NIGHTCLUB! 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