Every year, more and more families leave Somerville because they cannot afford to live here. Today, we have an opportunity to significantly increase the amount of funds available for creating affordable housing and we need your voice to make it happen.
Please take a moment to send a letter to the following City staff and decision-makers (even a 2 sentence email stating your position goes a long way in the tally!) asking them to support the Mayor's proposed increase in the housing linkage fee to $5.15. Comments are due this Friday, 5/24 at 12:00 pm. (be sure to include your name and address)
George Proakis, Director of Planning, gproakis@somervillema.gov
Alderman Tom Taylor, tftald32@aol.com
Alderman Dennis Sullivan, aldermansullivan@aol.com
Alderman Tony LaFuente, tony@tonylafuente.com
Somerville's housing linkage fee- a critical source of funding for affordable housing that is extracted from commercial development- is lower than both Cambridge and Boston's and has not been increased in 10 years. With the surge of new development being called for by the City and an increasingly cost-burdened population, the time to take action to ensure that housing opportunities will be affordable to everyone in Somerville is now.