Help Holliston Create Denser, More Affordable Housing THOUGHTFULLY

Diverse Holliston aims to engage residents in key issues affecting our town, particularly those impacting our ability to be welcoming and inclusive to current and future residents of diverse backgrounds and experiences. We believe that creating denser, more affordable housing would be a positive step for our town and for those who live and work here.

Diverse Holliston is looking for volunteers to monitor the 5 Projects that have been proposed so that residents can be informed about the value of each one.

If you are interested, please email info@diverseholliston.org.

The Housing Production Plan: What It Is and Why It Matters

A Housing Production Plan is a strategic roadmap for meeting current and future housing needs over the next five years. Holliston’s plan must show how we’ll progress toward meeting the MGL 40B requirement of 10% affordable housing (currently, we’re at about 4%). Last year we brought our town into compliance with the MBT3A Law, which requires zoning for multi-family housing at a density of at least 15 units per acre over 50 acres. There are currently five 40B Housing Projects proposed to be built in Holliston. You can find details of these projects at https://www.townofholliston.us/419/40B-Housing-Projects.

The Benefits of Denser and More Affordable Housing for Holliston (repeated from an earlier blog)

While the state mandates that Holliston completes a Housing Production Plan, it doesn’t require us to produce any housing. However, Holliston stands to benefit from developing more affordable and denser housing, aligning with our own Holliston Strategic Plan, which prioritizes Robust Infrastructure, stating:

“Increase and diversify the Town’s housing stock, especially rental and multi-family homes, to help ensure attainable, equitable, and affordable housing.”

Consider these points:

• In the JM Goldson Housing Survey (2025), 47% of homeowners and 58% of renters indicated they couldn’t afford to move to Holliston today due to high housing costs.

• 89% of homeowners in the survey reported that their homes aren’t suited for someone with mobility needs. If they develop such needs, there are few options for them in Holliston.

• Older residents find it difficult to downsize, making it harder for new families to move to Holliston.

• Many children of Holliston residents can’t afford to raise their own families in the town where they grew up.

• Workers in Holliston often can’t afford to live here, which complicates staffing for new businesses.

A 2022 study of affordable housing units in Alexandria, Virginia by Christina Stacy and Christopher Davis found that affordable housing positively impacts all residents, improving health, educational outcomes, employment stability, quality of life, and long-term incomes while maximizing the independence of older adults. Having affordable housing benefits us all—current and future residents alike.

Debunking Myths about Affordable Housing

In 2023, Jessica Trounstine analyzed survey data from metropolitan areas across the U.S. and found that most people prefer single-family homes, largely because they believe denser housing will decrease property values, increase crime rates, lower school quality, increase traffic, and reduce the desirability of surrounding homes. However, empirical evidence doesn’t support these beliefs. As examples:

• A study by Brandon Stanaway, published by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council of Massachusetts in 2017, found no link between increased housing development and increased school enrollment.

• Research by Henry Pollakowski, David Ritchay, and Zoe Weinrobe on 70 MGL 40B projects in Massachusetts found no evidence that property values of single-family homes near subsidized housing decreased. In fact, Stacy and Davis’s earlier research found a slight increase in property values for homes near affordable units in Alexandria, Virginia.

• A study by Douglas Albright, Len Derickson, and Elizabeth Massey on a 140-unit affordable housing development in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, showed no impact on crime, property values, or taxes.

Conclusion and Call to Action

Just because denser and more affordable housing is desirable does not mean that a particular project is what is right for Holliston. Diverse Holliston wants to promote the development of safe, high-quality dense housing that will benefit the people who will live there and the town as a whole. To do this, we must look at each project individually

• Where will it be located?

• How large will it be?

• How will it impact the environment?

• How will it impact our water?

• How will it impact traffic?

While housing is being designed it is still possible to negotiate with builders to maximize the benefit of what is built. But to do this, we must monitor and evaluate the design of each project and ask questions in public meetings.

Diverse Holliston is looking for residents who care about this issue and can attend public meetings, gather information, and help us develop a strategy for ensuring that the projects that are built are as beneficial as possible. If you are interested, please email info@diverseholliston.org.

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References

Albright, Len and Derickson, Elizabeth S. and Massey, Douglas S., Do Affordable Housing Projects Harm Suburban Communities? Crime, Property Values, and Property Taxes in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey (June 15, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1865231 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1865231

Pollakowski, Henry O. and Ritchay, David and Weinrobe, Zoe. Effects of Mixed-Income, Multi-Family Rental Housing Developments on Single-Family Housing Values. Center For Real Estate: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005). Available at:  http://web.mit.edu/cre/research/hai/pdf/40B report HAI 0405.pdf 

Stacy, Christina and Davis, Christopher. Assessing the impact of affordable housing on nearby property values in Alexandria, Virginia (April 2022). Available at: https://www.medfordoregon.gov/files/assets/public/v/1/planning/documents/6-steps/learningresources/all-attachments/other-assessing-the-impact-of-affordable-housing-on-nearby-property-values-urban-land-institute.pdf

Stanaway, Brandon.  An update on housing production’s affect on public school enrollment (2017, updated Feb. 2024). Available at: https://www.mapc.org/learn/research-analysis/enrollment/

Trounstine, Jessica. You won’t be my neighbor: Opposition to high density development. Urban Affairs Journal (2023). Available at:  https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3pt5t1gt