Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)

Citation: Town of Arlington, Fair Housing Action Plan (July 2021)
Jurisdiction: Arlington (municipal)
Source: Official source
Original Source: https://www.arlingtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/57214/637641171662530000 ↗

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Public Opposition to Housing
• Community opposition to housing development in some communities is explicitly anti-development, but the
arguments that lead to anti-development outcomes in Arlington are typically framed in non-housing terms,
with the focus put on density, neighborhood character, green space, tree cover, and more. Opposition is
often framed as occurring despite the opposition’s support for housing generally.
• Even when individual concerns are legitimate, the net effect of opposition across projects is to create an
environment that limits the opportunities for housing production (especially multifamily housing production).
This effect disproportionately impacts protected classes.

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Arlington Fair Housing Action Plan

• Increasingly, criticism to housing development also takes a position of being pro-Affordable-Housing
generally, while finding current development inadequate. These sentiments could align with fair housing
goals. However, without matched support of investment in deep affordability, this form of opposition
could have the effect of further limiting fair housing access.
• Some members of the Arlington community have organized against policies that impact housing,
especially attempts at zoning reform.
• Opposition is not universal, with support increasingly voiced for individual developments and zoning
changes.