Weston to Join Affordable Housing Collaboration

Six towns northwest of Boston will be joining forces to preserve affordable housing in their region this year, under a new agreement brokered by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) that aims to increase efficiency in administering housing services.

Bedford, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Sudbury, and Weston have just signed an Inter-Municipal Agreement to establish a Regional Housing Services Office for the purposes of sharing housing administrative services. The six towns are hoping to use the program to preserve their investments in affordable housing through proactive monitoring and sharing regional expertise. The Regional Housing Services Office will be established and located in Sudbury, and Sudbury will deliver the agreed-upon services. 

“The Regional Housing Services Office is a model collaborative solution to address the challenge many municipalities have in the administration of affordable housing, including monitoring long-term affordability restrictions and identifying income-eligible renters or owners,” said Jennifer Raitt, Chief Housing Planner at MAPC, who managed the project on behalf of the planning agency. 

The establishment of the Regional Housing Services Office is the result of a two-year effort, sponsored by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) through the District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) program, and led by the town managers of the six participating towns. 

The focus of the regional office is to offer services that towns can tap into on an as-needed basis, helping to alleviate the growing challenge of identifying housing opportunities for eligible residents.

“Assisting citizens seeking affordable housing opportunities and providing related services to those already residing in such units is a growing challenge for municipal governments in our region,” said Bedford Town Manager Richard Reed. “My colleagues and I have realized that regionalizing these specialized services is a more efficient and effective way to address the need, especially in a time when local governments are hard-pressed to increase staffing in each community. We expect to provide an experienced staff in the regional office whose efforts will be focused solely on providing these specialized affordable housing services.”

The regional office will be funded through membership fees paid by the participating towns, and will provide oversight and monitoring services for the towns.

“The participating towns will be able to proactively monitor compliance, make efficient use of resources, and start to develop a regional approach, developing common solutions to common challenges,” said Beth Rust, the Town of Sudbury Community Housing Specialist, who will manage the office.

If this pilot program is successful, MAPC and the participating towns hope to expand the regional office to include other neighboring municipalities.

For more information, visit www.mapc.org.