Category: housing

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Clamsplainer 2025: April 2025 Special Election, Because duh…

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Clamsplainer 2025: Gloucester’s April Special Election and why Tracy O’Neil will cost the City at least $30,000, but if you don’t vote Yes, millions more and it’ll come out of our pockets because do you think for one minute we can rely on the Fed to do anything now?

Editor’s Note: Greeting, Clam Nation. Josh here, retired politician (from elsewhere) and more or less Clam web administrator, bringing you our collective’s latest bit of analysis and snark. This was researched and assembled by our crew because Google Docs are a great way to collaborate. Anyhow, as the token non-Gloucester guy here I get to collect it all, edit slightly, and give you that Clamalysis you’ve all been waiting for.

So there’s a “special election” right now (some of you are already voting early, good for you!) about one thing: Should the plan for modestly increasing “by-right” expansion of multifamily homes in the areas close to MBTA stations that was passed unanimously by the City Council and approved by the Mayor be approved by the voters?

And you’re probably asking “WTF is the point here?” 

Okay, flashback time: In January 2021, the Baker administration and the Legislature (you know, that bastion of socialist tyranny also known as bipartisan government) passed a law called the MBTA Communities Act. It’s intended to make a dent in the chronic housing shortage we have in Massachusetts by relaxing standards for multifamily housing in cities and towns that are in or connected to mass transit. It passed, by the way, unanimously in the State Senate and 143-4 in the House. Not exactly an unpopular law. It’s aimed at helping Massachusetts crawl out of its “nobody can afford to live here” housing crisis by gently nudging 177 cities and towns with transit access—like Gloucester—to allow some multifamily housing near train stations. (our buses don’t count: the CATA system isn’t part of the MBTA). There are some oddities to the map as a result – Only Bourne is included on Cape Cod, a few towns in the Route 2 corridor aren’t part of it, and Avon is in a little donut hole on the South Shore, the only town left out. Boston is a special case within zoning and related laws, so it doesn’t apply to them (they have much more open standards already).

And, simply, the law says that we must establish “at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right.” When possible, it must be within half a mile of a public transit terminal (like a commuter rail station or ferry dock).

But how did we get here? Enter: Tracy O’Neil, conspiracy theorist-in-chief and former City Councilor, who spent her term introducing the kind of laws that make InfoWars look moderate. She failed, ran for Mayor, got crushed, and now is spending her time whipping up hatred of government as best she can. She and her merry band of “Just Asking Questions” folks managed to collect enough signatures to force this perfectly rational zoning plan onto the ballot. Because why trust expert planners when you’ve got vibes and a Facebook group?

Speaking of vibes, here’s Tracy’s latest reason why we should vote No: 

The Oracle of Fish Speaketh

 

In an April 14 Gloucester Times article, the main reason we’re all here insists she can foresee the “unintended consequences” of the implementation of this law. Thanks, Tracy, what a relief to have you! Screw all the planning experts, let’s stick with the lady who can totally see what’s coming, everyone, because reasons. If this thing doesn’t pass, Tracy, I am forwarding you my real estate tax bills FOREVER. 

So what happens after this election? Nothing. No, seriously: nothing. Life goes on. People in multifamily zones can finally expand their homes without jumping through flaming hoops at the Zoning Board of Appeals. Zoning sanity is preserved. State compliance is maintained. We don’t lose funding. We don’t pay more in interest. No frogs fall from the sky. The end.

3A compliance is, whether or not we like it, required. The state passed it (under the Baker administration), the courts have upheld it (which hasn’t prevented more lawsuits that’ll waste money and fail), and here in the reality-based world we understand that it’s not a sacrifice to handle it.  Frankly, most communities that have implemented it have done so in a way that minimizes the additional housing possible. Gloucester included.

 

What Happens If We Say No? Then we go on a three-month, tax-funded quest to re-pass basically the exact same plan, but with a slightly different ribbon on top so it’s legally distinct. If we fail? The state slaps the zoning on us anyway, and we lose access to all kinds of state money. Spoiler alert: The money doesn’t disappear—it just goes to other towns that aren’t throwing zoning tantrums.

Oh, and that sweet discounted interest rate Gloucester scored on a wastewater treatment loan? Gone. Looking to the future, we might even lose our “Housing Choice” designation if we’re still out of compliance in 2026. Then, we’d be on the hook for about $13 million in extra interest over the life of the loan. (But hey, at least we stuck it to… someone?)

One of the turds being flung at the wall by Tracy and the Howler Monkeys (that would be a great name for a bad thrash metal band, by the way) is that the state doesn’t have the right to dictate what communities do. Except that’s completely incorrect.

Communities exist because the state government allows it. Now realistically, nobody’s going to dissolve Gloucester over 3A, but there’s a hierarchy to law and what answers to what – and more importantly there’s a way to resolve those conflicts when they happen. A city or town can pass most any laws they want, but if they want to exceed the parameters set by the state (for instance, regulating condo conversions, rents, or liquor licenses above the state-established cap) they must get the approval of the state government. It’s called a “home rule petition” and a lot of local changes do happen that way. Outside of that, all local laws are subordinate to the state. If you have something on your books in conflict with the state, the state wins and your law is null and void.

For that matter, there’s many places in which the state in turn yields to the federal government (note: this is considered a problem right now by a majority of MA voters who didn’t vote for Herr Trump). Massachusetts does not enforce federal laws, they enforce state laws. We’re unfortunately seeing this right now in the immigration arena – being hopelessly fucked up by Congress, immigration policy has mainly been set by executive orders for the last five or so administrations. And when power shifts, policy is reversed and federal authorities follow that new policy.

Just like federal immigration law doesn’t mean Massachusetts cops go rounding up undocumented immigrants, state law doesn’t mean the Gloucester ZBA can pretend 3A doesn’t exist. Law. Hierarchy. Structure. That’s how it works.

“Thanks, The Clam!” you say. “That’s a perfectly rational explanation, although it’s certainly a lot of words!” 

Well, if you don’t like words or voting Yes or, like, anything, the “Don’t Boston My Cape Ann” Facebook page recently posted what they thought about some Yes for Gloucester supporters by modifying their election mailer. 

Such sophistication.

We’re 17% sure Kathryn Goodick is responsible for these doodles. What an articulate and compelling argument. At least Eileen and Melissa escaped the might of the pen. Whew.

In Conclusion

So, Clam Nation, what we’re saying is: Vote YES for Gloucester, or this $30,000 Special Election is going to cost the City – YOU – untold millions of dollars. The money comes from somewhere, kids, and that somewhere is the taxpayers’ pockets. Those are the foreseen consequences.



On Housing – thoughts from the Clam’s token politician on the eve of the Fuller vote

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Affordable housing.

 

Those two words seem to scare, anger, and confuse most people. Dunno why, though. It’s something every community needs, and precious few have enough of it. Affordable housing also isn’t really so much a specific government program (because lord knows we’re living in an era where, ever since one of our Grand Old political parties picked up a prion disease and started to see their brain dissolve into pudding, convincing themselves that Governmenting Is Bad) as it is a development goal to make sure that communities can have people of all sorts living there. The people who eat in restaurants AND the people who work there. The supermarket shoppers AND the supermarket workers. The Gym members and the gym workers.

 

Everyone needs to live reasonably close to their jobs. The people who sell you your coffee, deliver your newspaper, mow your yard, and help you live your upper middle class lifestyle don’t come from another dimension through a wormhole each day, returning to their tenement universe at night. Nope. They live in your town. If they get priced out of living there they’ll leave. And then the businesses you depend on won’t have employees. There’s more people who need affordable housing, too. People juggling school and work. Single parents. People in entry-level jobs.

She doesn’t live in a pod. She lives in an apartment. And you tip her badly, you cheap bastard.

People in government, too. I don’t know about Gloucester, but do you have any idea what a veteran parking enforcement agent (meter maid) makes? In Salem, after nearly 20 years, ours make about $44k. That’s also what an entry-level firefighter makes here. Make it to Lieutenant? We pay you $67k.

 

A new police patrolman isn’t paid as badly – they make about $54k. But that still doesn’t go too far in a world where rents for a 3-bedroom apartment go for between $1500 (one single listing on Realtor.com when I searched Gloucester today) and $2500 per month.

 

Your friendly local GOP will tell you that affordable apartments are all set aside for “illegals” or “them”, or “welfare queens”.

Saint Ronald The Spender, after fighting the Welfare War

Affordable housing is for you. And a community that lacks it starts to die, from the inside out.

 

There’s a fiction out there that 30% of your gross income should be the guideline for what you pay in housing costs. So let’s look at that number, shall we?

 

Assume, for a moment, that you’re a firefighter that’s moved up a couple of grades. And you make $60k per year. Pretty good coin, right? So that means you should be able to afford $20k per year in rent or in mortgage+property taxes. That equals about $1660 per month in housing expenses.

You know, these guys? All the feels.

First of all, looking at that Gloucester market (and I don’t know what you pay your firefighters, but it’s not going to be a lot more than Salem – if at all), when I ran the listing tonight there was ONE apartment rental of 3 or more bedrooms at that price. One. Now I’m sure there’s apartments that are on the market by word of mouth, or on Craigslist, or other channels. I’m not pretending that a single web search untapped an entire real estate market for me.

 

But that’s pretty slim pickings, however you look at it. Now assume the taxes paid on that salary (around $15k or so), and you’re looking at, after everything, perhaps $25k per year for that firefighter. Out of that he’s going to have to pay for a car, food, gas, clothing, and a whole life. If he’s married and has a child, that’s going to help pay for childraising as well. Sure, his wife probably works too – and out of those combined salaries you now have (probably) 2 cars, childcare, and a zillion other increased costs.

 

And there are people out there looking at this financial statement and saying “I WISH I HAD IT THIS GOOD!!!”

 

Think about that.

 

Buying a house? That’s even tougher. For a personal example, my wife and I earned, between us, about $100k back in 1993. We bought a single-family house in Salem that spring for $185k.

 

One Hundred Eighty-Five. Thousand. Dollars.

And it looked like this. Really.

Today, it’s worth almost $600k on the open market. That’s a rough tripling in value. Did our salaries triple? Nope. Simply put, if we were in the market for a home today, we couldn’t easily buy our own home that we already have. Real estate prices have not followed the same inflationary curve that most consumer goods follow. If they did, our home would have a value around maybe $300k. High, but within reach. Instead, the $300k home needs a lot of work, may lack things like off-street parking, and is probably in a worse neighborhood. As crazy as rental prices are, home ownership is even tougher. Mortgages are relatively cheap nowadays, but a $320k mortgage will cost you (before taxes and, if you need it, PMI) about $1700 per month if you have amazing credit. Add your property taxes (mine are about $7200 per year – another $600 per month – so a home assessed for less might be half that, or $300 per month) and there’s $2000 per month or $24k per year to stay on the housing treadmill. Not including all the things you have to pay for when you’re a homeowner (repairs and the like).

 

It’s like a Red Queen scenario. You have to run faster and faster just to stay in the same place.

 

So part of the dilemma for Gloucester, Salem, and all sorts of other communities is how to serve these people. We need housing for our workforces. Only in a supply-side fever dream do we actually want a world where there’s a whole subservient underclass who can be shipped in and out of town daily.

Affordable housing, amirite?

Years ago, Massachusetts realized this. And they created the “40(b)” zoning law. To over-simplify horribly, it says this: communities should have at least 10% of their housing stock in the “affordable” category (and I won’t get into the exact way it’s measured – you can look it up). At last measurement, Salem was at about 14%, and Gloucester below 10%. What 40b does is give cities an incentive to place and approve projects with an affordable component – if that number is below 10%, a developer can buy a property, designate a certain portion of the project to be “affordable” by deed, and then bypass all sorts of local approvals and zoning restrictions that would otherwise apply.

 

In Salem, we’re above 10%. Our redevelopment is mostly concentrated around our old brownfields at this point, because we’ve filled just about all the rest of this city. And our boards have full powers over most of it.

 

You guys aren’t. The Fuller School is out there. So are a whole bunch of other open spaces in town. Just saying. Building market-rate housing will help affordability some, by increasing supply. But to really make a difference, you need to build the real deal. As a community, you can get serious about solving this yourselves, or you can try to raise up the bridges. But only one of Gloucester’s bridges is a drawbridge. The other one is fixed-span – and even though it’s under construction all the time, you can’t close it. So other people are likely to solve it for you. There’s money to be made in housing, after all.