Write In to Support Dormer Reform
We presented our dormer amendment to a joint hearing of the Land Use Committee and the Planning Board on the 16th, and public comment is open until noon on May 1. If you were haven’t already, please write to [email protected] in support of file item 26-0287, the pro-dormer amendment. It doesn’t have to be long! For example, you might say something as simple as:
My name is _______ and I live at _______. I’m writing in support of agenda item 26-0287, the Somerville YIMBY dormer amendment. Dormers allow people to modify and expand their homes without significant neighborhood disruption, and the city ought to make it simpler to build them.
DSNC Voting Ends April 27
Elections for the Davis Square Neighborhood Council board are taking place through Monday, April 27. We’d like to request your support for Somerville YIMBY members Elaine Almquist, Christopher Beland, Alex Dehnert, and Peter (PJ) Kim-Santos.
We’re discussing the election and the full list of candidates over on our Discourse messageboard. Feel free to join in with questions, comments, and thoughts!
Upcoming Events
April 26: YIMBYs in the Park — Drop by Conway Park on Sunday, April 26 from 4:30 to 6:00 pm and chat about things like where our children will live when they grow up, and whether it’ll be close enough that they can come over for dinner.
May 1: Somerville YIMBY Monthly Social — We’d love to meet you in person! We’ll be at Remnant Brewing in Bow Market starting at 6 pm.
May 7: Land Use Committee — Agenda TBA. 6 pm, online via Zoom.
Recommended
The End of the Housing Affordability Crisis: “The decline of housing affordability has been a policy choice,” says this post from Human Progress, and we can make policy changes to fix it.
They Laughed at Car-Free Housing. Now They’re Trying to Copy It. Over a third of Somerville households don’t have cars, but somehow people still believe it’s a bizarre life choice.
Despite high housing costs, Boston area ranks among top destinations for young professionals, report finds: Lots of people want to move here for work. If we do not prepare for more demand with more construction, we accelerate displacement and hardship.
The Illiberalism of the Local: Liberal Currents discusses the dangers of excessive local control over land use.
Throwback Reads
These aren’t new, but they’re still worth checking out.
2002: The Impact of Zoning on Housing Affordability — A National Bureau of Economic Research paper notes that “zoning and other land use controls play the dominant role in making housing expensive.”
2019: Segregated By Design — This short film and accompanying website examine policy, zoning, and housing initiatives that drove segregation in the 20th century — and still support it today.
2023: It’s Harder to Build Energy-Efficient Housing When You Don’t Let People Build Anything — Sustainability updates to building code can’t help the climate if nothing gets built.