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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• Add a Housing Working Group to the Arlington Human Rights Commission that focuses on fair housing
issues. A liaison from the Department of Planning and Community Development for this working group
should coordinate interdepartmental housing concerns and policy.

• Create a protocol for responding to fair housing complaints or allegations of fair housing violations that is
uniform across commissions. The protocol should designate a commission and a staff person with
responsibility over the complaint process.

• Change the existing complaint-driven code enforcement system to one with regular, proactive inspections.

• Explore alterations to the Town Meeting schedule and virtual participation methods that could make Town
Meeting membership feasible for people who cannot join Town Meeting under the current procedures.

• Institute Equity Impact Assessments for each item on the Town Meeting warrant, particularly housing and
development related items.

• Explore expansions to Arlington’s tax exemption system that could apply to all income-eligible members
of protected classes.

• Set a minimum annual dollar amount and minimum percent of CPA funds (above the statutory minimum)
and CDBG funds that will go to address housing needs.

• Continue working with affordable housing providers and strategically using CPA and CDBG funds to
create opportunities for HOME funding.

• Assess alternative funding resources such as housing bonds.

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Arlington Fair Housing Action Plan

State Policies and Tools
Although this Plan is primarily focused on the local level, it is important to recognize the state-level policies and
programs that impact fair housing access.