On both opportunities the Community Preservation Committee had to fund the Affordable Housing Trust, I voted against it. I’m writing now to urge residents to vote in favor of this critical mechanism to the town—providing that the trustees fix an important failing in its current setup. My concern is that the trust circumvents town input into major decisions. Big money could theoretically be spent on projects that undermine local zoning bylaws. In short, the trust could potentially act as an unfriendly 40B developer.
Because of the participation of good-guys Steve Rowse and particularly Lucy Wallace, who works so diligently to relieve the town of 40B pressure, the current trustees seem unlikely do anything too outrageous. That said, this mechanism will exist for long after the current fine folks get fed up with volunteering for town boards and are replaced by unknown entities. That’s why the trust document needs to be tightened up, or else it could fund market-rate palaces for fast-food tycoons on top of wetlands.
But if this team could make the necessary improvements, the trust could be a powerful tool in protecting Harvard from unscrupulous, sleazy, smelly, underhanded 40B developers. You know, the ones who don’t know right from wrong—who don’t know their yin from their yang. The trust could buy affordable housing restrictions or help bring new affordable units to the market. Why, it could even preserve a historically significant building, make it “affordable,” and kill a whole flock of birds with one trusty stone.
All I ask is that before money is spent in a manner inconsistent with local zoning bylaws, the townspeople be able to vote to support such an action. Ron Ricci and I presented the trustees with a letter to this effect, but so far, they have been unwilling to budge. Unfortunately, until there are legal guarantees that the trust won’t be another source of town destruction, I will continue to harbor reservations against it. I really hope that they fix it, though. It’s a terrific idea, and one that I would love to feel good about funding.
Jonathan Feist, member of the Community Preservation Committee
Shaker Road
