Council Addresses Affordable Housing

The pressing need for affordable housing took center stage at last night's Cambridge City Council meeting.

After several Cambridge residents urged the council to address the issue, the council passed three orders to limit rent increases and to increase the availability of information regarding affordable housing.

Several members of the Dana Street Tenant Association spoke before the council, asking for help in keeping rate increases reasonable.

"I would like to continue living in Cambridge, but if the rents continue going up, we will have to move within the next year," said one resident.

"People of low and moderate income are being squeezed out of Cambridge," said another resident. "It's my home, and I don't want to leave."

The orders approved by the council criticized specific landlords for raising rents last year and said they unfairly evicted residents in attempts to bring in more affluent renters.

"We have these rent control apartments and they are trying to charge full market value," said one resident. "My salary has increased by three percent a year, but my rent has gone up way more."

Pat Dumont, who has lived in Cambridge for the last 20 years, complained rents are being increased despite substandard living conditions.

"I have a hole in my bathroom ceiling you could put a child through," she said.

Council members agreed the lack of affordable housing continues to be a problem.

"Working people can't afford to live here," said Councillor Marjorie C. Decker, who chairs the council's committee on neighborhood and long term planning. "If we lose our housing, we lose our community."

Members agreed that rent increases should not be allowed to force out lower income members of the community.

"I urge the landlords whose rent increases are meant to clean out the building to bring in more affluent groups to reconsider," said Councillor Kathleen Born.

The council also passed a resolution requesting the Community Development Department to "develop a user-friendly guide to available housing" which would outline options for Cambridge residents.

"It's important that we have access to all information on affordable housing," Decker said.

Citizens also asked the council to increase money for legal services in cases of unfair eviction.

"The city has the money to fight lockouts and evictions," said Bill Marcotte, a member of the Eviction Free Zone (EFZ).

Members of the EFZ are also leading a petition drive asking for increased state funding for affordable housing.

"The EFZ has begun to collect 100,000 signatures that we will present to the state legislature to increase state funding," said EFZ member Bill Cavellini. "We know money has to come from the state and federal government, and we are working on that."