Recent Letters to the Editor from Don Melander and Lynn Rudmin Chong make excellent points regarding the importance of mixed-income housing. Both write that segregating groups by income when race is involved supports and perpetuates racism. I agree.
It isn’t unusual for neighborhoods to be separated based on the incomes of those living there, but when race is involved, there are times when neighborhoods are designed to keep those different than them separate from them. Add to the issue of physical separation, poor schools, limited employment opportunities and the difficulty to access financing for businesses or homeownership.
I’ve lived in Concord for the better part of 40 years and I don’t consider our city racist. Are there racists here? Of course there are. On paper, Concord is a welcoming community, yet our city’s planning department has been unwilling to make recommendations to amend our zoning to support or encourage mixed-income housing opportunities. The excuse: it’s difficult for us to attract market-rate residential projects and we don’t want to make it more difficult for developers.
But would providing incentives for developers to build mixed-income housing and neighborhoods discourage building in Concord or would it encourage them to build here? Other communities have provided incentives for mixed-income development and require it in certain zoning districts. Have they seen developers flee? Or are there other reasons that deter developers from building market-rate projects here?
City officials will tell you that we have attracted a mix of development over the last year or so and we may see upwards of 1,000 new units being built over the next few years. But these projects appear to be segregated by income. The exception, the new CATCH project on Village Street that has a smattering of market-rate units mixed in.
Here’s what’s interesting. A number of years back the city council pulled their support for CATCH housing for a number of reasons. But when the city and CATCH were able to come to an agreement to develop the Endicott Hotel as market-rate apartments, the city supported CATCH’s Meninno Place. An affordable housing project in our downtown, that not only made up for the loss of affordable apartments in the Endicott Hotel but also added even more units of affordable housing than previously existed. By having the city intervene, CATCH and the city found a way to work together to provide housing that made sense for Concord.
What is missing now is the ability to encourage, or require, developers to build projects for all of us.
It has been over three years since the city council authorized spending $100,000 for consultants to advise us on form-based zoning codes. And while there has been some excellent information compiled by the consultants, the city has been unable to come to a consensus on how best to incorporate these recommendations for a much-needed update of our current zoning.
During my time on the city council and when testifying before the planning board, I have been consistent in advocating that we have zoning ordinances that best serve our city. While I didn’t support the city’s purchase of the Employment Security building, I encouraged market-rate development for the building. To have a more balanced mix of housing in our downtown, better representing the wide range of incomes in our city. I have testified that we also need to ensure mixed-income development in all areas of our city.
Both Melander and Rudmin Chong inform us of the outcomes if we fail to provide equal opportunities for all those living in our city. You don’t have to look to other communities to see what housing segregated by income can lead to, just take a look at our police log.
While Concord has always segregated housing by income, we don’t segregate housing by race. But when income and race collide, determining where in our community people can afford to live, we create the seeds for racism. Separation that can lead to voices of ‘it’s those people living in that neighborhood who cause all the problems’ or ‘it’s that neighborhood that doesn’t keep up their property,’ or ‘it’s those kids who act differently.’
Continuing to separate housing and neighborhoods by income, making it difficult to interact with each other and limiting shared experiences, we are sowing the seeds for a future where Concord may not look as welcoming.
Let’s develop a plan that’s affordable without adding to the ever-increasing residential property tax burden and provides access to our city’s resources for all. A plan that’s right for Concord. Shouldn’t our actions support our good intentions?
(Allan Herschlag lives in Concord.)