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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lots, only 2 could be made multifamily while staying
under 25%, making the de facto cap 20%.)
• pp.94-95 (Public Opposition to Housing):
• I think it's a misconception to believe that it's possible to preserve Arlington's current character. Keeping
our housing situation exactly as it is will inevitably change the social character of the town through rising
prices, forcing out all but the highest-income people - this is already starting to happen. This in turn will
affect what shops and amenities are available. Even if striving for stasis weren't reinforcing past racism, it
would be futile - we can only choose how to grow and change, and I hope that we will choose to grow in
a way that redresses past wrongs. Trying to avoid changes to the housing character of the town is like a
teenager trying to keep wearing their favorite clothes from when they were 8 years old: the nostalgia
may be understandable, but it's just not a good plan.
Additional Ideas
• I would very much like to see a restitutional housing fund. Addressing racial inequalities solely through
creation of affordable housing has two major problems: First, unless affordable housing is spread evenly
throughout Arlington, it carves the town up into districts segregated by economic class (which will bring
racial segregation with it). Secondly, it fails to address the immense damage done to Black generational
wealth by being deliberately and systematically obstructed from buying property in Arlington during
most of the 20th century. I would like to see a trust (funded in a similar manner to the AHTF) which assists
minority homeowners in buying primary residences in Arlington, covering a % of all closing, mortgage,
tax, and insurance costs that permits a median-income Black family to afford a median-cost home here.
•