Following City Council, Haverhill School Com Wary of Further Residential Growth

Ward 4 School Committee member Mikaela Lalumiere. (Courtesy photograph.)

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Joining Haverhill city councilors, who recently signaled a more careful approach to residential growth, some School Committee members last week called for the city to slow the pace of development, saying the district cannot handle more students.

Member Gail M. Sullivan said she “repeatedly” called attention to enrollment increases with different councilors.

“Every seat is taken. The schools are crowded and you’re allowing hundreds more people to come in with no plan. It’s not that we’re against any kind of additional housing, but where’s the plan? Where’s the cooperation? And I’m tired of hearing there are going to be no children in any of these places. Just park your car in front of Harbor Place and watch next door how many kids come out [of Harbor Place Residences] and get onto a bus,” she said.

Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, who chairs the School Committee, said she has been inviting the superintendent to meetings about possible new apartments since entering office in January. She noted that kind of collaboration never happened in her 10 years on the Council.

Children in a new development do not necessarily indicate an overall increase, however, according to Ian Burns, community and economic development program manager for the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission. Responding to questions from WHAV, he wrote data shows “a flat (or even slightly declining) trend in enrollment citywide.” As WHAV previously reported, public school enrollment decreased by 13% from 2000 to 2020. Though the number has ticked up in recent years, it remains below pre-2000 levels. Over the course of the pandemic, it dropped from 8,063 in 2020 to 7,882 in 2024.

When predicting enrollment, it’s important to account for all factors at play, Burns told WHAV. “Let’s say you have a new development built and five students move into that new development. At the same time, you might have four single family homes and they have families, and their kids just graduated from the school system.”

He said that results, roughly, in “neutral growth.” Variables more predictive of student population include the rate of birth, death and migration in and out of the city, he added.

Burns added, “it’s worth noting that denying new development on the basis of concerns over adding school children may violate the federal Fair Housing Act. Families with children are a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, to the same extent that age, sex, and race are also a protected class. That said, we certainly understand the intent of municipal leaders to monitor and manage the city’s resources and service availability.”

He draws attention to a 2024 study by the Boston-based Metropolitan Area Planning Council, there is “no significant association” between more housing units and greater school enrollment. Committee members said, though, they see children emerging from new apartment buildings not meant for families.

The report continues, “While it is true that schoolchildren occupying new housing units may cause a marginal change in enrollment, it is one factor among many others… Analyses find that demographic trends, parental preferences, and the characteristics and affordability of available housing often play a much larger role than housing development in enrollment growth and decline.”

Member Mikaela D. Lalumiere, who introduced the topic for discussion said, “We often hear from developers that families with children do not live in studio apartments, do not live in one-bedroom apartments—”

“It’s a miracle,” Barrett interjected, prompting laughter. Lalumiere continued, “and, I think we all know that that is just not true. We can all think of examples of families that are living in studio apartments, families that are living in situations which they would not choose for themselves.”

“The very existence of overcrowding highlights the complications and challenges associated with the statewide housing shortage,” Burns wrote. “Families cannot find a place to live that fits their needs and is affordable because there is simply not enough supply.”

While still a councilor, Barrett was the only member of the body to vote against “The Beck,” a 290-unit apartment complex along the Merrimack River, as WHAV reported.

Along with understanding impacts of new development, the city may begin asking would-be landlords to offset costs to services and infrastructure. If asked to do too much, Burns cautioned, developers may back out entirely or opt to build what is allowed “by-right,” which does not require Council approval.

In his experience, Burns said developers are always “assessing which communities are going to be the most receptive to their projects.”

And, he said, “If a housing development doesn’t move forward, then you’re not only denying market-rate development from happening, but you’re also stopping affordable housing from happening.” In September 2023, Haverhill passed an inclusionary zoning ordinance, which mandates 10% affordability in apartments with more than 10 units.

At the meeting where this new approach was first discussed, a lone voice spoke in favor of housing for large families with low incomes. Mirca Rivera, who told WHAV she is formerly unhoused, called for affordable homes with more than two bedrooms.

“There’s a family that needs a four-bedroom. She has six kids. There’s another one, a resident, that has five kids,” she said. With some teenagers and some younger, “inside the same home, they need their privacy. You can’t put a baby with a teenager, or a 10-year-old with a fourteen-year-old because their mind is not the same.”

As WHAV reported, Planning and Development Chair and Councilor John A. Michitson admitted at last week’s City Council meeting they hadn’t adequately covered affordable housing, calling for a briefing from the city on the subject.

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