The following was sent to us by a reader –
Dear Neighbors,
I’m writing this in response to the recent LTE in the Reading Recap lamenting the possibility that the future plans for the Eastern Gateway might include higher-density housing. The questions in that letter were meant to be rhetorical, but I do think about them and similar questions a lot, so I thought I would share my thoughts on those and the sentiment expressed in that letter more broadly.
Why would ANY owner of a single family home in Reading Massachusetts be in favor of adding affordable, high density housing to this community?
There’s a few reasons why I’d be in favor of this. One important reason is that it would increase the tax base for Reading in a sustainable way. We have an override coming up in the near future, and revenues with the current tax base will continue to lag behind the rate at which costs are rising. Denser areas have lower marginal cost of infrastructure and services than single family zones; that is, density is associated with lower per capita costs for municipal governments [1]. It’s one lever we can use to strengthen town finances. Density near downtown also provides a boost to the foundation of our local businesses and would support new ones. And if it’s built right, emphasizing other transit modes and connection to downtown, it can do so without adding to the parking burden in town.
How does the inclusion of high density affordable housing INCREASE the sense of community within this town?
One obvious answer is it provides an option for seniors, who may have lived in Reading for decades, to stay in the town they love while also off-loading a house that might be too large and expensive to stay in. Another thought is that Reading used to be a much more affordable community which was accessible to a mix of working- and middle-class families. As housing costs have skyrocketed the types of people who used to make up Reading are going to be priced out. Building smaller, more affordable housing creates an option for young families and regular folks to be a part of Reading’s future, not just those who can afford million+ dollar homes. Through this lens, it sure looks like refusing to address the urgent housing needs in our community is going to do more to change the character of our town than the converse.
How does the influx of THOUSANDS of people into this community (who have to no loyalty or sense of ownership to the actual community) impact the $86 Million dollars you’re being asked to float for a Killam rebuild “because we have no space”?
Well it spreads out that cost among more people, doesn’t it :)? I don’t totally disagree that a large influx of new residents in a short time can be disruptive, but I do find it quite dubious to assume that they would for some reason not come to care about the town they move to. If new residents in the Eastern Gateway are sending their kids to Reading schools, going to Reading town events, shopping at local Reading businesses – why would they not grow to feel “loyalty” or a “sense of ownership” in the community, like literally any other person who moves to Reading?
If you just bought a 3,000 square foot house for over $1M in this town- how do you think “high density”, “low income” housing is going to impact the value of your property?
There is actually a lot of research on this question, and most of it seems to find that if there is an effect at all, it’s likely to be positive (in other words, higher density housing increases the value of nearby single-family homes) [2, 3, 4, 5].
I understand the concern about a large bolus of new residents moving to town in a short period of time. It’s more disruptive and harder to plan for than gradual increases in density that would come from gentle upzoning of single-family home areas. But the reflexive assumption that somehow density is bad for the town and for existing homeowners is not really grounded in reality. I don’t know what is in store for the Eastern Gateway area, but I think a walkable, mixed-use area (with, yes, higher-density housing) would be a huge boon to the town, both in the vibrancy and support it would bring to our downtown, and in the way it could provide ballast for our town’s finances.
Sincerely,
Liam Loscalzo
Federal St
