Developers pay impact fees to fund affordable housing and job programs, but the mayor wants the city to have more discretion around changing the requirements.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh wants commercial developers to contribute more funding for affordable housing. He is going to ask the state legislature for more flexibility around the linkage rules, which currently require developers to pay $9.03 per square foot for housing and $1.78 for job training and which generated $31 million from 2014 to 2018, reports Tim Logan:
Under current state law, Boston can increase the fees once every three years, at a rate tied to inflation. Walsh’s proposal would do away with those limits, making it easier for the city to adapt to the market, said John Barros, his chief of economic development.
The linkage fee issue is one of 15 bills Walsh is filing with the state legislature. Massachusetts operates under home-rule petitions where local municipalities get approval from state legislators for changes to laws.
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