How churches, synagogues could be key to Mass. housing crisis
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Land owned by faith-based organizations could unlock hundreds of thousands of new homes to help get Massachusetts out of its housing crisis.
Why it matters: Massachusetts religious organizations control nearly 5,000 developable parcels over more than 20,000 acres, according to an analysis.
- The land mostly sits idle while the state needs 222,000 housing units built by 2035.
Catch up quick: Faith communities trying to leverage their unused land for affordable housing currently face years of delays and costly battles over zoning red tape.
State of play: The "Yes In God's Backyard" movement — YIGBY — already cleared legislative hurdles in California, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington.
- A bill from Sen. Brendan Crighton would grant automatic approval for religious groups to construct apartment buildings if they've owned the land for three years.
- Developments of up to 30 units per acre would have to set aside 20% of units as affordable for households making up to 80% of the area median income.
- A Connecticut bill takes a similar approach, waiving some zoning rules for religious land so long as at least 30% of units are designated affordable.
A Protestant church with 45 acres gave up on its housing plans because of the difficulty they'd have had with zoning permissions, Commonwealth Beacon reported last year.
- Another church, Hartford Street Presbyterian Church in Natick, spent four decades seeking zoning relief.
By the numbers: The average parcel size held by religious landowners is about 4 acres, according to the analysis by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy's Center for Geospatial Solutions.
- 65% have existing water and sewer access.
- Nearly 63% are near public transit.
Zoom in: Building dense new housing on half the lots could yield up to 500,000 units.
- A less-dense buildout of a quarter of the vacant land could produce over 250,000 homes.
Between the lines: Supporters say YIGBY legislation would turn tax-exempt land into tax revenue-generating homes. They estimate the state could see $61 million annually if just half the idle parcels were developed.
The other side: Municipalities and local governments hate it when the state messes with zoning restrictions writ large.
- In Connecticut, critics warned that cash-strapped congregations could partner with developers for profit instead of a mission to house the needy.
- And then there are constitutional questions about giving special zoning treatment to religious organizations.
What's next: Crighton's bill is still alive, but there's no guarantee Senate leaders will let it come to the floor for a vote any time soon.