Letters to the Editor
Less Or Nothing in JP?
An important conversation is unfolding in Jamaica Plain about revised affordability plans for proposed housing developments. Richard Heath’s most recent article (“JP Housing Committee opposes 3326 affordability changes,” January 29 – https://tinyurl.com/r6mtu9pw ) points out a contradiction in our community’s response worth exploring.
Last May, the city’s Planning Department presented the JP Housing and Zoning Committees with data on the impact of the heightened affordability requirements in Plan: JP/Rox. The findings were clear: new development in the Plan: JP/Rox area dropped sharply after the plan’s adoption because the affordability thresholds made many projects financially infeasible. We are now seeing the consequences, as both the Doyle’s redevelopment and 3326 Washington St. seek revisions to their affordability commitments in order to secure financing.
Understandably, some in the community are protesting these attempts to revise previously agreed-upon commitments. Yet it does not serve the community for these developments to remain stalled; that would simply lead to no affordable housing being built at all. What is needed now is a workable compromise. In that spirit, let me offer one for 3326 Washington St. This development should be held to the same affordability plan of the recently approved Hatoff’s redevelopment: 13% onsite affordable units at 70% AMI, plus 7% for voucher holders. If that plan was acceptable a few blocks down Washington St., it should be acceptable here as well.
There is broad agreement that Jamaica Plain needs more affordable housing. Yet, as Mr. Heath noted, the Rogerson-Beaufort project – a 100% affordable senior housing proposal – recently reduced its plan by 30 units. Here is a developer who is ready, willing, and able to build deeply affordable housing in our neighborhood, who drastically reduced their commitment simply because some abutting neighbors objected to the size of the building. Where is the outrage over this reduction in affordable housing? Shouldn’t we be writing letters of opposition to the city over this walk-back as well? If we truly want more affordable housing in Jamaica Plain, we need to support policies and projects that enable it. Affordable housing only helps our community if it gets built.
Chris Vaughan
Jamaica Plain
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Comments
I became aware of the Planning Department’s analysis of PLAN: JP/Rox’s effects on housing production when the slides were forwarded to me by JPNC members. Notably, I was not present for the Department’s in-person presentation. The analysis involved comparing two groups —board approvals and permit data for project filings BEFORE and AFTER adoption of the plan. At face value, this framing can lead a reader to conclude that the PLAN reduced affordable housing production. However, comparing two periods while treating the PLAN as the only meaningful difference overlooks the inherent complexity of how affordable housing actually gets built. The central analytical question: What is driving the change? Beyond the existence of a neighborhood plan, many variables influence whether affordable housing moves forward and is acknowledged in the last slide. Many factors could explain differences between the “before” and “after” period: mortgage interest rates, construction and labor costs, supply-chain disruptions, investor’s expectations of return. Put simply, an analysis that included these factors would illuminate that the outcome might not be attributed to PLAN: JP/Rox alone. This is briefly addressed in the last slide and may have been address in the presentation.
continued - The analysis also relies on citywide aggregates. However, results could be skewed by a single neighborhood that experienced unusually high production of affordable housing. By comparison, JP/Rox would look unreasonably low. A more informative approach would compare neighborhoods, rather than the entire city. Additional context at a neighborhood level —demographics, existing building stock, tenure patterns, or development pipelines—would allow for a more nuanced and credible interpretation. Delay patterns deserve similar treatment. Measuring the typical time between permitting and construction across neighborhoods would clarify whether slower delivery in 2021–2024 was unique to JP/Rox or reflected broader conditions in Boston neighborhoods. JP/Rox was developed through years of community work. Before considering withdrawing such a plan, the community deserves the most rigorous, careful analysis possible.