The first-term Democrat, who has made addressing the commonwealth’s housing crisis a flagship issue of her administration, laid out her plan in Medford Tuesday.
“Today, we're going to be cutting review times down," said Healey. "The vast majority of projects will move from taking as long as a year for review to just a month.”
Fellow Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom of California made a similar move this summer to hasten housing production by limiting environmental regulations.
“At a moment when contractors, builders are struggling out there with things that we can't control in Massachusetts, inflation, tariffs and the like, this is a way that we can help you," Healey continued. "We know how much you need the help, okay? And I know that saving time will help save money. This is about cutting red tape so we can cut more ribbons on more new homes and get to more reasonably priced housing around this state.”
In Berkshire County, the pains of the ongoing crisis are felt across the board.
“When it comes to health, housing is an issue," said Democratic State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier, who represents the 2nd Berkshire District on Beacon Hill. "Certainly, when it comes to employment and job recruiting for our employers, it comes down to housing. Every time you turn around, it's a housing issue, and so we need to make sure we do everything we can to get more housing produced.”
She said housing is an important issue in the region, especially in the city of Pittsfield.
“Not only because we want people here housed, but we want to be able to grow our economy," Farley-Bouvier explained. "And a big part of growing our economy is making sure there's housing for these new companies that we're trying to recruit and companies that we're trying to grow.”
In a county still recovering from the loss of the industrial sector that shriveled by the end of the 20th century, housing is crucial – and complicated.
“We have this tension between seasonal home ownerships, Airbnbs taking some of the much-needed long-term housing away from the housing supply, and that's always going to be a factor," said Democrat Leigh Davis of the 3rd Berkshire District, who represents the heavily tourism-and hospitality-reliant southern portion of the county. “We are a community that really is something that people appreciate being able to come to and having a second home, but we need to make sure that we really protect our housing for our workforce, for our families, and we ensure that we're a viable region. And so, I think there's always going to be that pressure to kind of try to try to protect the housing that we have and keep it affordable.”
Davis says one way Massachusetts can avoid sacrificing environmental protections while looking to generate new housing is by repurposing existing properties.
“Do we have dilapidated buildings that aren't being used?" she offered. "Do we have old mills? Do we have historic preservation opportunities? So, that's always first and foremost. And how do we get the families here? We have our declining population, and what we need is housing. And with the small businesses, with the hospitals, I mean, they're crying out for workers, and when we do find the workers, we can't find the housing.”
Democratic State Representative John Barrett of the 1st Berkshire District in the northern quadrant of the county says the commonwealth needs to offer enticement programs.
“We have to have programs that will say to a developer who'll come in, take some of these old houses that that can be fixed up, get them back on the market," he told WAMC. "We used to do a Home Opportunity Inc. program in the city of North Adams, when the city would go in and purchase some of the older homes, either through tax foreclosures or from bank deals or whatever it may be, and fix them up and put them back on the on the tax rolls. I think those are the type of innovative programs the state has to do.”
Barrett says focusing on assisted living centers for older residents is also an important piece.
“We have to have a place for our seniors who want to sell their homes and move into an assisted living center, because that's where they want to be, and that's where they want to have the ability to live the rest of their life," said the state representative. "We don't have that opportunity for them. This would free up housing in the city too.”
Healey’s other efforts to address the housing shortage include her $5 billion Affordable Homes Act and goal to create 220,000 new units in Massachusetts by 2035.
