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Cambridge Day does not endorse candidates or positions. Views expressed in this column are those of the writer.
To the editor:
Cambridge is facing a staggering shortage of new housing construction, and it’s time to face the fact that politicians in power are benefiting from the status quo.
Most of our politicians can’t even seem to identify the source of the problem, but John Deaton has a plan to fix it. Deaton has called for building millions of new homes nationwide by cutting the red tape and outdated zoning rules that add months and thousands of dollars to every project before a single foundation is poured.
Young professionals and businesses are fleeing Massachusetts for greener pastures. Friends of mine who grew up in this city have had to leave for places where a starter home doesn’t mean a lifetime of debt. I don’t want the next generation to face this same dilemma. Deaton’s answer is simple: build more, faster, and get government out of the way of the builders who want to do it.
I don’t want to live in a future Massachusetts where we tell our kids about owning homes as if it’s a historical fact. Sen. Ed Markey has overseen this decline for 50 years, if he had any solutions he would have implemented them by now. John Deaton is a man of action, not slogans, and I trust him to bring some much-needed change to Washington.
Mark Steffen / Montgomery Street, Cambridge
A stronger
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Please list the specific things that should be done to speed up housing construction in Cambridge. Like top 3 actions.
I can list three things that should be done to speed up housing development.
1. Shorten permitting and review timelines. By-right zoning removes the need for special permits in most cases, but building permits, Historical Commission review, and inclusionary-housing compliance can still take months.
2. Reduce remaining cost-adding requirements. Cambridge has eliminated parking minimums citywide, an important step. But open-space ratios, unit-mix rules, and inclusionary requirements can still make marginal projects infeasible and should not used as a way to chip away at zoning reform..
3. Address constraints beyond zoning. Cambridge’s reform left Historical Commission review, building codes, and other non-zoning requirements unchanged. Historic-district review can still delay or block demolition and alteration permits, often becoming a lever that people can pull when other avenues for limiting development have closed.