Housing, Development Panel Scheduled For Waltham Tonight

News release from Watch City Dems.

WALTHAM, MA — Addressing one of the top headline issues of the day, the Waltham Democratic City Committee (WDCC) will host a panel discussion event on housing and development.

This special event comes on the heels of the national election, in which the high cost of housing has been a significant economic concern. Escalating costs, imbalances in supply and demand, and widening income disparity have created the perfect cocktail for a housing crisis. In pursuit of solutions, the panel will discuss options and challenges facing communities as they address housing shortfalls, with an emphasis on local/regional approaches, such as the MBTA Communities Act and the reemergence of rent control.

• Matt Noyes, Director of Public Policy, Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA)
• Will Rhatigan, MBTA Communities Engagement Manager, CHAPA
• Amy Dain, Consultant/Principal, Dain Research
• Genoveva Tavera, Community Organizer, WATCH CDC

Each of these panelists bring their own unique expertise in housing and development.

• As CHAPA’s Director of Public Policy, Matt Noyes is responsible for helping develop, direct, and implement the organization's public policy agenda. Matt joined CHAPA in 2023, having previously worked for the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education as Director of Trustee and Government Relations, as well as for Youth Villages, Health Care For All, and the AIDS Housing Corporation.
• Will Rhatigan joined CHAPA in 2024 as MBTA Communities Engagement Manager. In this role, he works with planners, elected officials, and advocates to help communities create multi family zoning districts that comply with the MBTA Communities Act, a 2021 law that requires municipalities served by the MBTA to allow some multi-family housing. Before coming to CHAPA, Will worked as Policy and Advocacy Communications Manager for Mass Audubon.
• With extensive experience in economic policy from Collins Center for Public Management, Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, MassINC, and other institutional think-tanks, Amy Dain has built a reputation as an independent consultant in public policy research. Her focus is on urban and suburban planning and housing policy. She has written on these topics prolifically, and is a frequent presenter at conferences and events. She wrote the State of Zoning for Multi-Family Housing in Greater Boston, a survey of zoning and plans in 100 communities of Greater Boston. In 2008, she launched the StatNet initiative, a community of practice for municipal managers interested in data-driven decision-making.
• Genoveva Tavera brings an in-depth understanding of Waltham to this panel. As the Community Organizer of WATCH CDC, Genoveva is an active member of the Waltham Latino community with experience in community outreach work. She has educated families on accessing community resources, developed an after-school program for 47 low-income families, created a library to promote bilingual literacy, and coordinated a community crisis response for a missing person. She has international experience in managing multi-cultural events.

The panel discussion event is the second of its kind hosted by the WDCC. The idea behind these events is that an informed electorate makes for better candidates, better policy and better communities.