Housing Trust

Belmont’s new Housing Production Plan provides a blueprint for achieving 10 percent or greater housing affordability by pursuing these goals:

1. Diverse Housing. Create additional affordable housing opportunities for seniors, families, Belmont’s local workforce, and persons with disabilities.
2. Affordable Housing. Preserve, expand, and create deed-restricted Affordable Housing for low- income households.
3. Equitable and Accessible Housing. Support and invest in programs and policies that address racial disparities in rental and homeownership access and affordability.
4. Sustainable Housing. Promote net zero housing construction and carbon neutrality.
5. 15-minute Neighborhoods. Promote the development of walkable and bike-able 15-minute neighborhoods.

The plan also sets out various strategies—educational, funding, planning, preservation, zoning, and production—to reach these goals. Among the strategies are these:

• Preservation: Redevelop Belmont Housing Authority (BHA) properties to preserve the public housing and expand affordable housing opportunities and address lack of accessibility.
• Zoning: Allow accessory dwelling units and 2- and 3-family homes by right in the general residence (GR) and single-residence (SR) zoning districts.
• Zoning: Meet or exceed the goals and requirements of the MBTA Communities Act.
• Production: Encourage redevelopment of property owned by religious institutions for Affordable Housing
• Production: Pursue development opportunities on large, vacant lots
• Funding: Aim to spend more than the 10% annual minimum of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding on community housing.

The Housing Trust turns 25 in 2024!  Here’s some of what has been achieved in that time:

• Produced 40 affordable rental apartments, three permanently affordable homeownership units, and a Habitat house;
• Led efforts to establish inclusionary housing requirements and to increase them substantially;
• Created and funded an Emergency Rental Assistance Plan during the pandemic to help Belmont’s renters and landlords;
• Negotiated a plan and zoning for the next McLean development responsive to residents’ needs;
• Developed two 5-year housing production plans (2018-2023, 2023-2028) to continue planned progress in meeting housing needs;
• Helped raise the official percentage of affordable housing in Town from 3.3% to 6.2% now, and 7.3% once the McLean development is built; and
• Made educational presentations to numerous audiences in Belmont and to multiple Town Meetings over time.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS