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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Arlington Fair Housing Action Plan

• Grants would NOT be lump-sum (which encourages flipping) but paid monthly for as long as the house is
the homeowner's primary residence, encouraging long-term residence. If the homeowner moved / sold,
the remainder of the grant money would revert to the restitutional housing fund, to be re-used in another
grant.
• There might want to be some sort of provisions allowing the benefit to be transferable along with the
house if it's to a family member who's been living there for some minimum time, to avoid catch-22
situations in divorces/separations, or someone losing their home if it was owned by a relative (also living
there) who died.
• Idea: A "put your money where your mouth is" covenant with neighboring towns (maybe one of the
groups listed on p. 67) - i.e., a legal document stating that towns which lag in producing affordable
housing have to pay compensation into a fund; while towns which are ahead get to take money out of
that fund. It avoids "the best solution to this problem is to foist it off on your neighbors", and provides a
strong incentive for towns to be timely.

If desired, I'm happy to discuss any of these comments and ideas in more detail if you'd like, though I'll be away
on family vacation for the next week or so.

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