LYNN — The Lynn City Council got its first look Tuesday night at a comprehensive five-year plan that’s being developed to increase the city’s affordable housing stock.
The city’s interest in developing a housing production plan was the recognition that not all of its housing needs were being met despite having more affordable units than is required by the state, according to Karina Milchman, chief of housing and neighborhood development for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).
Milchman said the plan, which is being developed by Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) and the MAPC, will be aimed at addressing challenges facing the city, such as a lack of affordability, increased displacement pressures, homelessness, and poor or unsafe building conditions.
“The vision that people want to go towards is a more affordable, safe, diverse, inclusive, friendly and welcoming, sustainable and clean Lynn,” said Milchman, who was using the feedback from last month’s public planning forum. “(How can we) balance a strategy that brings in market-rate development and investment in the city, as well as meets the needs of lower-income and moderate-income Lynners?”
Although Lynn has remained a place of “relative affordability” in comparison to other communities — Lynn’s rents are comparable to Salem and Malden but well below Chelsea, Revere and Somerville — statistics show that more than 42 percent of Lynn households are living in a home they cannot afford, according to Milchman.
More than half of all Lynn households are low-income, while 63 percent of those are cost-burdened, meaning more than 30 percent of their income is spent on housing. Many are spending more than 50 percent on rent, which is exacerbated by statistics that show renters tend to make much less than homeowners. The average incomes are $34,000 and $86,000 respectively, Milchman said.
“We think affordability is key and the benefits of it trickle up,” said Milchman.
For instance, individuals could spend more on other needs such as food and medical services, while municipalities would spend less on public services because people would have improved health and less stress, she said.
However, Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard feared that an increase in affordable housing would attract more families, which would put more pressure on a school district that’s already overcrowded.
“Lynn is already the lowest in rents compared to surrounding communities,” said Starbard. “We’re at a higher percentage of families. Taking this on and attracting more development that (would) bring in more families into our already overcrowded and crumbling school system would put Lynn kids already enrolled in the schools at a disadvantage.”
Starbard said families that have been displaced by rising rents in other communities would move to Lynn. He said he keeps hearing that the city needs more affordable housing units, but suggested that other communities should “step it up” to meet those needs as well.
A housing production plan is typically undertaken by communities that have less than 10 percent of its units designated as affordable, which is used to develop strategies for housing production aimed at meeting that state requirement under Chapter 40B.
Since the city has met that threshold, with 12.5 percent of its units considered affordable by the state’s Subsidized Housing Inventory, the plan that’s being developed, coined “Lynn Housing for All: A Plan for Inclusive Growth,” is not a requirement.
However, the future document would meet all of the requirements of a Housing Production Plan (HPP), a proactive strategy for planning and developing affordable housing that would have to be approved by the Lynn City Council, Planning Board and state Department of Housing and Community Development.
