Election 2017: Questions for City Council Candidates: Affordable housing and public comment

The 2017 Malden City Council elections are approaching. The Municipal Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. A preliminary election on Sept. 19 determined the final candidates.

To help Malden voters decide on which candidates to support, a group of citizens organized by Prisco Tammaro, a Malden resident, in partnership with local media,  developed a series of “Quality of Life” questions for City Council candidates.

The questions were sent to the candidates in August with instructions on how to respond. The questions ranged from issues of affordable housing to development, grant writing and bike trails. 

This week’s questions are about public comment periods before City Council meeting and affordable housing.

This is the fifth and  final installment. For previous questions and answers, see links at the botton of this page.

Question 1: 

Question 2: According to state records, 10.2% of Malden’s housing is affordable. If the city’s rate of affordable housing drops below 10 percent, the state’s Ch 40B law will take effect and allow developers to build residential units well beyond Malden’s zoning restrictions as long as they offer 25% of those units at affordable rates. What would you suggest Malden do to prevent this from happening?

Note: NR indicates No Response.

Dave D’Arcangelo, Councilor At-Large, Incumbent

1. No

2. Our community must decide how much affordable housing stock we want, and whether our shared vision is to stay above the Ch 40B limit.

Debbie A. DeMaria, Councilor At-Large, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. Mandate all future developments adhere to the 10.2% affordable housing requirement when applicable. We must remember all our residents (seniors, young families, etc.)

Craig Spadafora , Councilor At-Large, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. 1) increase affordable home ownership 2) Limit growth of new units. Communities under 10% affordable housing, allow developers to skirt virtually all local zoning bylaws

Stephen P. Winslow, Councilor At-Large, Challenger

1. Yes

2. Offer incentives to keep units affordable: 1) Create an affordable housing plan; 2) Form community partnerships to build affordable housing 3) Make new developments have 10%+ affordable units.

Peg Crowe, Ward 1, Incumbent

1. NR
2. NR

Paul A, Condon, Ward 2, Incumbent

1. NR
2. NR

John P. Matheson, Ward 3, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. Malden also satisfies 40B §20 since 1.5% of its land has affordable housing. It can also be satisfied with a housing production plan by 2020.

Candace L. Julyan, Ward 3, Challenger 

1. Yes

2. Yes. I  believe new projects need to have a strong affordability component, such as 15% affordable units in a mix proportionate to the development.

Ryan J. O’Malley, Ward 4, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. An Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance requiring a portion of moderate and affordable housing units in future residential developments would
   help protect seniors and long-term Maldonians.

    

Barbara M. Murphy, Ward 5, Incumbent

1. NR
2. NR

David Camell, Ward 6, Non-Incumbent

1. Yes

2. Implement a policy stating all new housing projects must include sufficient affordable housing units. Affordable housing works best when fully integrated with all neighborhoods.

    

Jerry Leone, Ward 6, Non-incumbent

1. 1. Yes

2. 2. NR

    

Neal Anderson, Ward 7, Incumbent

1. Yes

2. Community Preservation will dedicate 10% of annual funds to affordable housing. Additionally, I would be willing to consider zoning modifications to address affordability issues.

Scott Ciccone, Ward 7, Challenger 

1.  Yes

2. Along with Malden residents, I oppose any plan to increase our population size beyond 65,000 because doing so would drain city resources.

    

Jadeane M. Sica, Ward 8, Incumbent 

1. No

2. As City Councilor, I have supported the creation of a housing plan (in progress) which positions
   Malden to be proactive with HUD in addressing affordable housing.

Richard J. Correale Sr., Ward 8, Challenger

1. NR
2. NR

Note: Candidates Peter Anastasia, Ward 8 Challenger, Joseph S. Gray, Ward 6, Non-incumbent, and Jennifer Lynn McClain, Ward 3, Challenger, did not receive enough votes in the Sept. 19 preliminary election to advance.

Previous Quality-of-Life Questions 

Sept. 15: Candidates’ answers to questions about future development at the former Malden Hospital site

Sept. 22: Candidates’ answers to questions about the Northern Strand Bike Trail.

Sept. 29: Candidates’ answers to questions  about water quality.

Oct. 6: Candidates’ answers to questions about marijuana sales and grant writers. 

The deadline to register to vote in the Municipal Election is Oct. 18, 2017. For general information, please see: http://www.cityofmalden.org/vote

To check your registration status, click here https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx

To find out where you vote, please see http://www.sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/bal/MyElectionInfo.aspx

Photos for this feature were taken from the City of Malden website and candidates’  social media sites, where available.  Featured photo image from Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2962616203/in/photostream/