Fair Housing Questionnaire for 2021 Boston Mayoral Candidates
By the Community Advisory Committee for Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (CAC)
The Invitation:
To:
John Barros
Andrea Campbell
Annissa Essaibi George
Kim Janey
Michelle Wu
Housing is the existential crisis facing the City of Boston. Fair housing in particular fails to receive the priority it demands. Please share your thoughts regarding fair housing by responding to the questionnaire below by August 20, 2021. The results will be published before the September 14, 2021, Boston Mayoral primary election. Please send responses to the CAC’s contact Lincoln Larmond.
The Responses:
Four of the five candidates acknowledged receipt of the questionnaire, which was sent on August 6, 2021. Two of them responded: City Councilor Michelle Wu and City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George. Their responses are below.
Annissa Essaibi George
1. What is your understanding of what it means to affirmatively further fair housing in Boston?
The act of affirmatively furthering fair housing means that the City of Boston must make proactive, intentional and meaningful actions to ensure housing access and stability, and opportunities are provided to all residents regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, family status and disability. We need to do everything we can to ensure that anyone who wants to call Boston, can, and has the option, opportunity, and pathway to ownership to do so.
2. Please share with us how you would address the well-documented and persistent racial inequities in homeownership in Boston.
As Mayor, I will build more affordable housing with a focus on creating generational wealth to break down systemic racism and increase equity across every neighborhood. We have to make sure homeownership is accessible and equitable, and that all residents know the tools and resources that are at their disposal when exploring housing options. This means intentionally engaging communities impacted by Boston’s history of discriminatory homeownership policies and investing in matched saving programs that enable first-generation homebuyers to afford costs associated with purchasing a home. I have already committed to doubling the City’s commitment of $325,000 to the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance’s STASH (Saving Toward Affordable Sustainable Homeownership) program and would build on that work as Mayor by laying the groundwork to reach a $1 million investment starting on Day One of my administration.
3. What efforts would you make to ensure greater enforcement of the fair housing laws for tenants and homeowners who experience intentional or non-intentional discrimination when seeking housing in Boston?
As Mayor, I would increase the budget for the Office of Housing Stability to ensure it is sufficiently equipped with the staff and resources necessary to help the residents of Boston and ensure housing stability. I would also hold monthly meetings with the Office to ensure I am up-to-date on realities on the ground, in our neighborhoods. Finally, I would ensure fair housing is part of the applications for the Boston Zoning Commission, ZBA and BPDA and ISD approvals.
4. As you know, under the prior administration HUD withdrew the AFFH Rule and no longer required the City to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing. If this should happen again, what mechanisms would you create and use to ensure the City would continue to affirmatively further fair housing in Boston?
As mentioned above, I would ensure we are actively furthering fair housing here in the City of Boston by embedding it into our current systems, project review and approval process. Boston was the first major city in the nation to include fair housing requirements in its Zoning Code and I will continue to honor that commitment as Mayor, regardless of action taken at the federal level.
5. How can zoning be used to ensure that development reflects fair housing? Please give us some examples.
Zoning is one tool in the City’s toolbox to shape development and diversify the type of housing we create. As Mayor, I will update and streamline Boston’s decades-old zoning process to be more transparent, equitable and better aligned with our city’s housing needs as well as the needs of Boston’s residents. By updating our zoning code, we have an opportunity to ensure our housing stock meets the needs and realities of our residents. This means better opportunities for multifamily housing, affordable units, workforce housing and artist live/work units.
6. In 2014 and 2015 the City of Boston commissioned independent audits of the BPDA. These audits examined BPDA’s business practices but do not contain any discussion at all about the City’s and BPDA’s duty to affirmatively further fair housing, and they make suggestions that run contrary to the duty to AFFH. Would you support a comprehensive fair housing and racial justice audit of BPDA by an independent fair housing/racial justice entity as called for in the Boston Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) 2021?
Yes.
7. Fair housing is so often treated as a second thought to affordability. While we devote considerable resources of time and money to enhance affordability, fair housing initiatives are often under-funded — if funded at all. Will you share some of your ideas about resources — both financial and institutional — that you would make available to promoting fair housing across the city?
We need to make sure that anyone who wants to call this city home has an equal and fair shot at doing so. During my time on the Council, I’ve led the charge to reconvene the PILOT Task Force and I think a lot of that money should go towards building more housing in Boston. In my first hundred days, I will reconvene the PILOT Task Force, update our PILOT agreements and build an office dedicated to institutional compliance and transparency to ensure equity for the tax paying residents of Boston and ensure our fair share of revenue is put to good use.
8.Are you familiar with the legislative history, statutory authority, and operations of the Boston Fair Housing Commission? Have you had any interaction with the Commission during your time in city government?
Yes. During my time on the Council, I have focused my work on the housing crisis in the City of Boston, with a specific focus on the rising level of family homelessness in Boston. Through that work, I have partnered with the Fair Housing Commission through my efforts to enforce our ordinance preventing income and racial discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders. In addition, I worked with the Fair Housing Commission to organize a public hearing in the City Council focused on reducing affordable vacant units and streamlining applications for affordable housing units.
Michelle Wu
1. What is your understanding of what it means to affirmatively further fair housing in Boston?
I see the call to affirmatively further fair housing as a mandate to not just comply with but to exceed the requirements of civil rights law to undo patterns of segregation and discrimination that continue to shape Boston today. All community members who belong to protected classes under the law must have equal access to housing that is safe, healthy, accessible, and affordable. It is critical that we recognize the role that institutional racism has played in designing Boston’s neighborhoods, from redlining and disinvestment to racial inequities in access to public transit, urban tree canopy, and green space. We must advance an understanding of fair housing that goes beyond housing itself to encompass the broader context of our lives, reversing segregated living, learning and working patterns and building a city where our neighborhoods are healthy, integrated, resilient, and connected, rooted in racial, economic, and climate justice.
City government holds enormous power through our planning, development, and zoning processes to advance our shared goals of equal access, mobility, inclusion, economic prosperity, and racial justice. As Mayor, I will ensure that all City agencies and departments working on issues related to housing have the resources, staff and capacity to swiftly and effectively address and eliminate barriers to fair housing in Boston.
2. Please share with us how you would address the well-documented and persistent racial inequities in homeownership in Boston.
Homeownership is a central part of closing the racial wealth gap, stabilizing our communities and giving residents the chance to put down roots in our city. But soaring home prices and widening racial disparities have closed off homeownership opportunities for too many Boston residents. As Mayor, I’ll bring the full backing of City Hall to prioritize housing, homeownership, and closing the racial wealth gap. To level the playing field for first-generation homebuyers, homebuyers of color, and other residents who do not have the benefits of generational wealth, I’ll dedicate City resources to expand matched savings programs like STASH and affordable mortgage programs like ONE+Boston. I’ll partner with the Boston Housing Authority to scale up use of the Section 8 homeownership program, so that voucher holders can secure down payment assistance and long-term financial coaching. We should expand homeownership education programs to include collective ownership and tenancy in common arrangements, which may open doors for multigenerational families like my own, by allowing two or more households to divide the costs of ownership and keep monthly payments more affordable. Finally, there’s a role for creative seller financing combined with a life estate to provide a pathway for younger buyers to buy out senior homeowners at an affordable price, while allowing seniors to age comfortably in their own homes, strengthening our communities while creating pathways for younger residents of color to stay in our city.
3. What efforts would you make to ensure greater enforcement of the fair housing laws for tenants and homeowners who experience intentional or non-intentional discrimination when seeking housing in Boston?
Boston’s history of redlining, disinvestment and segregation means that too often, housing discrimination continues to be baked into the structure of our policies and programs — even when it is unintentional. The City of Boston must take proactive action to root out discrimination before it occurs. As Mayor, I’ll partner with fair housing and civil rights organizations to expand fair housing education, investigation, and enforcement powers, and make it easier for residents to report instances of discrimination. I’ll strengthen our fair chance tenant selection policies to ensure that residents who have experienced eviction, in addition to those with CORI, are not discriminated against, knowing that tenants with any kind of eviction court record are often denied housing options. And I’ll use the convening power of the Mayor’s Office to ensure that all real estate agents, brokers, lenders, developers and property owners that operate in Boston understand their obligation to be a partner in this work. I was proud to have authored and passed the City’s first Language and Communications Access ordinance in 2016, but we must do more to ensure that Boston residents who speak a language other than English and residents with limited literacy have equal access to housing resources, including Metrolist, DND program information and application, and public notices, and the equal opportunity to shape our city’s future.
4. As you know, under the prior administration HUD withdrew the AFFH Rule and no longer required the City to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing. If this should happen again, what mechanisms would you create and use to ensure the City would continue to affirmatively further fair housing in Boston?
Boston has an urgent responsibility to act on fair housing, regardless of federal guidance. As Mayor, I’ll implement Boston’s Assessment of Fair Housing through an Executive Order, and I’ll require that all City departments participate in the regular review, amendment, and updating of all recommendations so that the entirety of City Hall remains focused on rooting out inequities and barriers to safe, affordable, comfortable and secure housing. Fair housing work is currently splintered among several City departments, including the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement, the Office of Language and Communications Access, the AgeStrong Commission, the Human Rights Commission, and more. We need bold leadership from the Mayor’s office to increase communication and collaboration among departments. It’s also crucial that all offices are equipped to gather and share data with the specificity to understand the disparate impact of housing policies on protected classes and across neighborhoods. And we must continue to engage with community members, particularly those who belong to protected classes, and the AFFH community advisory council to ensure that action from City Hall is rooted in community needs.
5. How can zoning be used to ensure that development reflects fair housing? Please give us some examples.
Boston’s zoning code has not been comprehensively updated in more than 50 years, and the complicated process disproportionately benefits the wealthy and well-connected who have the resources to pursue zoning exceptions and waivers. My plan to abolish the BPDA and replace it with a public, fully-resourced planning department will make the zoning process more transparent, equitable, and accountable to the public and rectify a legacy of mutual mistrust, displacement, and neighborhood destruction. As Mayor, I’ll launch a comprehensive, community-centered master planning process to update our zoning code in alignment with community needs for stable housing, safe streets, open space, reliable transportation, food access, and a healthy environment. We’ve seen this work in other cities — for example, I’ve been inspired by efforts in Vancouver to leverage the zoning code to increase the number of family-sized units and encourage family-friendly design. We can use the power of zoning to keep families in Boston and ensure that seniors and people living with disabilities have equal access to housing that is safe, secure, and accessible.
In my housing justice plan, I’ve also outlined several zoning reforms to support fair housing over the short term. I’ll exempt 100% affordable and public housing projects from parking requirements and most review in order to prevent frivolous lawsuits against affordable housing and reduce legal costs. Wherever necessary, I’ll dedicate City legal support to defending these critical housing projects. I’ll prioritize higher density by-right near major transit corridors, and I’ll enact tiered density bonuses for projects that exceed minimum affordability standards to accelerate the construction of new affordable and resilient housing. I’ll ban credit checks for renters applying to inclusionary development and homeless set-aside units by establishing admissions requirements in the zoning code. And I’ll streamline zoning for supportive and deeply affordable housing so that new scattered-site supportive housing units can move forward across Boston’s neighborhoods, creating sustainable pathways for people experiencing homelessness to find housing that is safe, secure, and permanent.
6. In 2014 and 2015 the City of Boston commissioned independent audits of the BPDA. These audits examined BPDA’s business practices but do not contain any discussion at all about the City’s and BPDA’s duty to affirmatively further fair housing, and they make suggestions that run contrary to the duty to AFFH. Would you support a comprehensive fair housing and racial justice audit of BPDA by an independent fair housing/racial justice entity as called for in the Boston Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) 2021?
Yes. The BPDA has failed to affirmatively further fair housing in its work, and in failing to address its legacy of displacement and destruction of neighborhoods, the agency continues to fuel mistrust. I’m proud to have supported efforts by Councilor Lydia Edwards, my sister in service, to embed fair housing into our zoning code — but these efforts are just a first step. City approvals for development continue to shape structural inequities as Boston misses opportunities for equitable wealth creation and justice. We need bold action to prevent the approval of another Seaport, instead building family-friendly neighborhoods that are diverse, climate resilient, and rooted in civic infrastructure like schools, transit, parks, and space for arts and culture. In my Green New Deal and Just Recovery agenda, I have proposed a comprehensive justice audit of all City operations to analyze internal processes, hiring, decision-making, leadership, budgets, and communications to identify places where City action is exacerbating or failing to address disparities, within the BPDA and across the entirety of City government. To address these structural injustices, I’ll grant real power to the City’s Equity and Inclusion Office to take corrective action and set the tone for other sectors moving forward.
7. Fair housing is so often treated as a second thought to affordability. While we devote considerable resources of time and money to enhance affordability, fair housing initiatives are often under-funded — if funded at all. Will you share some of your ideas about resources — both financial and institutional — that you would make available to promoting fair housing across the city?
As Boston works to create the wide array of affordable housing types our communities need to thrive, we cannot turn our back on the reality that without thoughtful, coordinated work among City agencies and community organizations, we risk falling short in our work to affirmatively further fair housing. As Mayor, I will enact a coordinated, cross-department strategy to assess our progress on delivering housing justice on an ongoing basis, and root out violations of housing rights. We need to break down silos throughout City government so that fair housing work is not operating in a vacuum, but rather has the full institutional backing of City Hall. For example, I have proposed the creation of a Children’s Cabinet to align and coordinate housing and legal assistance with nutrition, healthcare, recreation, and other services that impact the wellbeing of children and families, so that all Boston families have access to the full suite of resources the city has to offer — including fair housing protections.
To generate additional financial resources for housing justice initiatives, I support updating the community benefits requirements of the PILOT program to bring them in line with the recommendations in the PILOT Action Group’s 2018 report. Doing so would ensure Boston’s anchor institutions, including our largest universities and hospitals, more meaningfully contribute to our communities through programming and commitments determined in consultation with the community. As Mayor, I would also ensure that the Office of Assessing property values the millions of dollars of property that these institutions own so that PILOT calculations are up to date. We must also improve the IDP and linkage programs so that all Boston residents benefit from our city’s development boom. I’ll work in coalition to lower the unit threshold to trigger IDP and strengthen the requirements for deeper affordability to ensure families can stay in Boston. And I’ll focus on transparency and accountability to ensure that developers follow through on their commitments — not just to income-restricted units, but also to community benefits negotiated with neighborhood residents and fair housing protections.
8. Are you familiar with the legislative history, statutory authority, and operations of the Boston Fair Housing Commission? Have you had any interaction with the Commission during your time in city government?
Yes, I had the opportunity to work with the Boston Fair Housing Commission in 2016, when I was fighting to pass the Language and Communications Access ordinance, which guarantees translation and interpretation for residents with limited English proficiency and assistive technology for residents with hearing or visual impairments to access City services. The Commission was a critical partner in this work and ensuring that fair housing resources are accessible to all of our residents, regardless of linguistic or communications barriers. As the lead investigative agency for fair housing discrimination complaints in Boston, the Commission plays an essential role in delivering housing justice. As Mayor, I’ll ensure the Commission is fully resourced and staffed to continue this critical work.
