Page 4 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2022 Inclusionary zoning ordinance moves on to subcommittee Proposal applies to six-plus units, 12% at affordable rate By Adam Swift A number of local officials and housing activists spoke in favor of a new inclusionary zoning ordinance at a public hearing before the City Council last week. There were several people who raised concerns about the ordinance, including local Attorney Gerry D’Ambrosio and developer Ja Attorneys at Law 14 Norwood St., Everett, MA 02149 Phone: (617) 387-4900 Fax: (617) 381-1755 John Mackey, Esq. * Katherine M. Brown, Esq. Patricia Ridge, Esq. mie Russo, who said the best way to address the lack of affordable housing is to increase the amount of market rate units in the community. The City Council referred the ordinance to a future Zoning Subcommittee meeting for further discussion before taking a fi nal vote on the issue. The proposed inclusionary zoning ordinance would apply to new development of six or more units, requiring that 12 percent of the units be off ered at an aff ordable rate of 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The focus would be on making the units available for Revere residents, with 70 percent of the units, the maximum allowed under state statute, offered up for local residents. In return for aff ordable units, developers would be eligible for zoning and parking relief for their projects, as well as the waiving of some fees. Developments of up to 12 units could make a cash payment to the city’s Aff ordable Housing Trust Fund in lieu of building the aff ordable units. “I think this will allow us the opportunity to increase the housing production and to reach the deeper levels of affordability that we need to maintain Revere as a working-class city,” said Juan Jaramillo. “Unfortunately, many people in this room may have been forced out of the city, or have had family members forced out of the city, because they can no longer aff ord it. This proposal really goes above and beyond to ensure that we have on-site units, that we are allowing for multimodal transportation by incentivizing lower construction limits on the parking, and it also supports many of our smaller developers, many of who are from Revere.” Debbie DiGiulio, the city’s Director of Elder Aff airs, also spoke in favor of the ordinance. “A house gets sold in Revere, and the seniors have to look for another apartment, so they are looking for something aff ordable, and as you all know, there is nothing aff ordable in Revere,” she said, “so a senior is looking for senior housing, or they stay in their house … and they are not able to aff ord costly repairs, unable to keep the outside of their home up, unable to make the house accessible.” While there is senior housing available in Revere, DiGiulio said, the list is long to get an available unit. “We will all be seniors soon,” she said. “On behalf of seniors, [we] need to consider what’s best for a vulnerable population.” Lor Holmes of the Revere Housing Coalition stated that due to historic increases in rents and home prices Revere is threatened with losing entire generations of working families that have always been the lifeblood of the city. “This is why it is so critical to add to our supply of affordable housing, as much as possible and as quickly as possible,” Holmes stated. “I believe there is widespread understanding of this need and support for action on aff ordable housing now.” D’Ambrosio said that rents are much too expensive in Revere and throughout the country. “Suggesting that a 15 percent aff ordability rate is going to fi x the problem is just ignoring the problem,” said D’Ambrosio. “Why do we have this problem? I think any legitimate intellectual endeavor will tell you that our zoning laws in this state are overly restrictive.” At the heart of the issue, D’Ambrosio said, high rent prices are a result of supply and demand. “The more housing that you add, the lower your rents are going to be,” he said. “The more restrictive we are with our zoning laws, the fewer the units that will be built.” Russo said the restrictions put in place by the inclusionary zoning ordinance would hamper him and other local developers from building in Revere. RevereTV Spotlight T here were so many community events to cover over the past few weeks. RevereTV kicked off coverage with sights and sounds of the 6th Annual Moroccan Festival that took place at DiSalvo Park by the Susan B. Anthony and Whelan Schools. RTV has covered every Moroccan Festival in Revere which you can fi nd in the respective playlist on the RTV YouTube page. This year’s opening ceremony is now playing on the Community Channel over the next few weeks. Last Saturday night, the Boston Renegades took on Pittsburgh in the semifi nals at Harry Della Russo Stadium. The Renegades were victorious – 42-24 – and are moving on to the National Championship in Ohio. You can watch this game now replaying on the Community Channel in the evening, and you can also check out all the Boston Renegades’ home games this season on the RTV YouTube page. The once-a-year Catholic Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes in Beachmont took place last Sunday and is now playing on RevereTV on Sundays this month. The Mass was held by Father Wellington Oliveira of the Immaculate Conception Church. RevereTV records this event every year. The recording of this Mass is also available to you on YouTube at any time. Revere’s first annual largescale Pride event was celebrated at the end of June. The Revere Tea Dance at Waterfront Square was an event made for all. Watch RevereTV’s coverage of the event on the RevereTV Community Channel. The video includes a few words from MayREVERETV | SEE Page 8
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