The city of Cambridge has until April to decide on a proposed policy that would greatly expand the number of affordable units required in new development projects.
"Next week, the Cambridge City Council will hold a public hearing on a plan to nearly double the amount of affordable units included in new housing projects," according to an editorial by the Boston Globe. "The proposal would require developers to set aside 20 percent of units at affordable rents — $1,766 a month for a family of three that earns about $70,000 a year, for example. The current requirement is 11.5 percent of units."
Setting the stage for the political fight the new policy is expected to bring, the editorial also summarizes the arguments made on each side of the issue.
For more coverage on the process that brought Cambridge to this point, see also an article by Tim Logan from April 2016. Tim Logan also reported in December 2015, when the nearby city of Boston raised its affordable housing fees.
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