'Malden Needs To Decide What's Good For Malden'

MALDEN, MA — Malden is among 15 Boston-area communities working to build more new housing to meet ever-growing demands, even if it's not quite clear yet what shape that will take. The city signed on as part of the Metro Mayors Coalition's Tuesday announcement that the group will chase a "landmark" housing production goal of 185,000 new units by 2030.

City officials made it clear Malden is under no obligation to hit any number as part of the overall goal. Rather, the city is focusing on what it can do to ease its own burden on what is being called a housing crisis.

"Malden realizes just like every other community there is an unmet housing need," Executive Director of Malden Redevelopment Authority Deborah Burke told Patch over the phone. "But at the end of the day Malden needs to decide what's good for Malden."

That means specifying what those unmet housing needs are - affordability among them - and coming up with a strategy to solve them. Burke said to expect one of two public forums before the end of the year as part of a newly launched housing production plan.

Burke noted inclusionary zoning as one potential solution Malden doesn't currently employ. That would necessitate a change to zoning ordinances that would essentially require private developers to include a certain amount of affordable units in addition to their market-rate developments.

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The coalition said the 15 cities and towns that make it up have added nearly 110,000 residents and 148,000 new jobs since 2010, but only permitted 32,500 new housing units. But what works for Melrose or Newton or Brookline or Boston - other communities in the Metro Mayor Coalition - may not work for Malden.

"Everyone recognizes that there's a regional housing crisis," Maria Luise, special assistant to Mayor Gary Christenson, told Patch over the phone. "I think that's been made pretty clear. What that means for Malden at this point, we can't answer that."

Luise said more needs to be understood about how any strategies would impact things like traffic, density, schools, and more.

"Malden was not committing to a number [by signing on,"] Luise said. "When [Malden] decides what its strategy will be it'll be its own strategy."

The coalition's announcement comes in the face of skyrocketing home prices and rents. The median sale price in Massachusetts this year through August is $389,500, according to the Warren Group. The median condo sale price are up more than 10 percent to $375,000.

Gov. Charlie Baker in December 2017 offered a bill calling for 135,000 new units by 2025. It failed to advance in either branch of the Legislature.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council in Boston said Eastern Massachusetts will need an estimated 435,000 units of housing by 2040 to meet demand.

Materials from the State House News Service were used in this report

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