JALSA in The Boston Globe on YIGBY Housing Legislation

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Excerpt from Pew pew: Mass. Legislature fires a housing Hail Mary

Solving the state’s housing crisis could take divine intervention. But Massachusetts state legislators are looking for a simpler solution in the state’s houses of worship.

House lawmakers are planning to pass legislation Wednesday that would make it easier for religious institutions to develop housing on their property, a move that supporters say could open up thousands of parcels of land across the state to development.

The House tucked the provision — a version of a so-called “Yes in God’s Backyard” bill that lawmakers proposed earlier this legislative session — into a policy-packed $425 million economic development package the chamber plans to vote on Wednesday. The legislation, which closely mirrors a bill filed by state Representative Andy Vargas, would allow faith-based groups to build multifamily housing on property they’ve owned for at least three years. Up to 25 percent of units would be required to be affordable, depending on the number of units and the density of the development.

If passed, the proposal could open up close to 5,000 new parcels for development, according to a study the Boston-based Lynch Foundation commissioned last year. And developing those parcels could allow the state to conservatively build up 80,000 new housing units — helping the state reach its target of 222,000 new homes by 2035 it set last year.

It’s a bit of a holy union between religious institutions such as churches (which aren’t gaining many new recruits) and those invested in increasing the state’s housing stock (which is thousands of units away from the state’s goal).

“There’s not really any churches that are growing,” said Katie Everett, the Lynch Foundation’s executive director. “So we have these big faith communities that have underutilized parcels of land, and they’re seeing how difficult it is in Massachusetts for many of their parishioners to be able to stay.”

The proposal would allow for new development in “a way that is measured,” Vargas said.

Plus, it could help boost local tax bases, converting tax-exempt land owned by a religious organization into taxable housing, an added “win,” said Cindy Rowe, the president of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action.

“In this day and age, when we are going to see such restrictions on federal money going to cities and towns, it’s a huge opportunity to put some more money on the tax rolls so that municipalities can benefit from it,” Rowe said.

Others view the proposal as a welcome relief after years of wading through red-tape to get shovels in the ground.

“For our typical project, we need some type of zoning relief, and that process takes up to about a year to work through,” said Bill Grogan, president of the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, a non-profit housing development organization affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston. “Given the housing crisis we’re in, anytime we can reduce the time frame for a project by at least 12 months, it’s an incredible opportunity.”

The proposal needs support from the state Senate and Governor Maura Healey before any building can begin, but both the Senate leaders and governor have been keen on finding new ways to ease the state’s housing and affordability woes. State Senator Brendan Crighton, a Lynn Democrat, filed a similar bill in the Senate earlier this session.

There’s already an appetite among many faith-based organizations to begin developing on their land.

“Every church is considering what to do with the land that they own,” said Reverend Kenneth Young, associate director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches. “A lot of leaders and pastors see this as one of the best ways to serve not only their population, but the broader population that they are located in.”