Every so often even the most well-intentioned people need to be reminded to stop, take stock of their efforts, and get on the same page.
A perfect example of this failure to march in lockstep on critical concerns facing Lynn is the push by local community organizations to spend American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money on preventing evictions and creating affordable housing.
Essex County Community Organization (ECCO), Neighbor to Neighbor, and Lynn United for Change are certainly aware that city officials are steadily advancing the Housing Lynn Plan, a comprehensive effort aimed at addressing the city’s affordable-housing needs.
“Through ARPA funding, Lynn has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the city’s housing crisis,” read a statement released by the organizations prior to a Tuesday night City Hall Square rally.
It’s tempting to tag the infusion of millions of dollars in federal aid as a panacea for a problem like evictions. Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic body blow, evictions are one facet of Lynn’s complicated housing challenges.
But, again, they are a facet and the Housing Lynn Plan is a well-thought-out approach to addressing housing needs.
Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND), in collaboration with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, played a key role in the plan’s development with wide public participation.
The City Council approved the plan last September and the Massachusetts Department of Community Development approved it in January.
In April, LHAND Manager of Planning and Development Jeff Weeden highlighted the plan’s key strategies for councilors, including using the city’s zoning ordinance to facilitate development of varied housing at a range of price points; using city resources to meet affordable-housing needs; and adopting policies to protect the rights of renters.
These approaches fall in line with those advocated by groups pushing for ARPA anti-eviction spending.
The Housing Lynn Plan, said Mayor Jared C. Nicholson in April, will ” . . . support growth that benefits the entire city and have a positive impact for cost-burdened residents.”
Community groups, in our view, are better served in meeting their goals by looking beyond short-term spending on eviction prevention and by working to reinforce community support for the plan’s goals.
Lynn’s housing needs are serious and the plan is a comprehensive approach to meeting those needs. Indeed, they are a “once-in-a-generation” approach that benefit from support and focus by community groups.
