As a Holden resident, I was dismayed to read that Holden refuses to comply with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s zoning regulation encouraging more multifamily housing (i.e., apartments) in communities near commuter rail. While there are legitimate concerns regarding town services and school enrollment, Town Manager Peter Lukes cited none of these, but was quoted as saying that “it won’t fit the character of neighborhoods” in Holden.
Talk about “Not in My Backyard!” Massachusetts faces a shortage of 200,00 housing units statewide. Worcester’s population increased by 25,000 with no new housing added. The results have been soaring rents, increased evictions and homelessness, and increased property taxes as our homes increase in value due to the shortage. My taxes increased more than $800 per year simply because my home has been re-valued at the current market rate.
Sure, we’d all like to live in lovely houses in our cute little town, but many people cannot afford that, and there simply aren’t enough houses to meet the demand. So we must learn to share and make room for people in need of housing. And let’s make sure that at least some of these apartments are affordable for people not making big salaries.
President Ronald Reagan slashed housing vouchers by ¾, and that program has never been restored. We must demand that Congress restore that program. People wait over a decade for Section 8 housing.
Massachusetts needs to construct affordable housing; create state housing vouchers; mandate that new construction includes a certain amount of affordable units. Worcester’s City Council has been shilly-shallying on this for over a year — pass the ordinance already!
Legislate a cap on how much rents can increase annually. At present the sky is the limit, thanks to the power of real estate interests. A friend who is retired and blind suffered a $400 a month rent increase recently. Inexplicably, voters in Massachusetts eliminated rent control by referendum in 1994. Why would anyone do that?
Inaction by our politicians has led to today’s housing crises. For all her rhetoric during her campaign, Gov. Maura Healey’s new budget actually decreases housing assistance and has very little to say about the housing crisis except to appoint a “housing czar.”
Robin Van Liew, Holden
March 14, 2023
