An update on Haverhill’s affordable housing situation is on the horizon for the City Council, which may begin asking more of developers before approving large projects.
Officials said little on the subject during a consequential meeting on residential development last week, prompting Councilor John A. Michitson last night to call for a briefing from the Community Development Division.
“It was clear from some of the feedback that night that we weren’t really spending a whole lot of time that night on affordable housing and discussing that, in particular, and that we needed a separate meeting for [it],” he said.
As WHAV previously reported, discussion centered on concerns about city infrastructure not being able to handle the rapid pace of development, with 1,700 units currently in the pipeline. Councilors on the Planning and Development committee called for training on asking would-be developers to pay for public amenities—whether a new water main or a new police officer. The full Council last night agreed to such a training, as well as hiring a consultant to create a model estimating how new dwellings could impact the city.
Mirca Rivera asked government officials during the subcommittee meeting to keep affordable housing in mind. She told WHAV she has experienced homelessness and, now housed, volunteers to help people in her area of Haverhill find services.
“Connecting with people in Haverhill really got me to see that I was not by myself, that there is a struggle out there with rent control and even with school systems,” she said.
She told councilors big families with lower incomes live in the city, and they need somewhere comfortable to stay, too. According to officials, most of the units currently under development are studios, one-beds or two-beds. When children grow up and are ready to move out, she said they deserve to have somewhere they can afford to live.
Councilor Katrina Hobbs-Everett, who Rivera said she has collaborated with, asked City Solicitor Lisa L. Mead whether lotteries for affordable housing in the city could prioritize Haverhill residents. Mead replied a special lottery could be held for the city’s inhabitants, though the government would have to be careful not to violate the federal Fair Housing Act.