Advocates rally against denial of Highland Ave. project

By Elizabeth Sheeran

Danny McLaughlin, Emily Parott, Ivy Richardson and Stephanie Toews-Moeling (left to right) were among those who set up sleeping bags in front of City Hall on October 15 to call for more affordable housing in Somerville. - Photo by Elizabeth Sheeran

Not long ago, Ana Ferreira was optimistic about her chances of finding a permanent home in Somerville for herself and her five-year-old son Matthew Fonseca.

The 29-year-old licensed medical assistant thought she might be a candidate for one of six units the Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) planned to build at 162 Highland Avenue, as permanent housing for formerly homeless families. The SCC had secured the funds needed to buy the property and renovate the building, and the project got the green light from the Planning Board in June.

But the proposal fell one vote short of the four votes needed from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) on September 15, effectively killing the project, and along with it Ferreira’s optimism.

I’ve been homeless for almost year now, and now that they’ve finally raised the money for affordable homes and then it doesn’t work out … I’m still stuck being homeless,” said Ferreira, who for now is staying with Matthew at the Cross Street Family Shelter.

Ferreira was among over 80 supporters who rallied outside Somerville City Hall on October 15, to express their frustration with the ZBA decision, and to call for more affordable housing in Somerville. With 162 Highland permanently off the table – the seller withdrew the offer when approvals fell through – advocates said they want to start now to prevent similar setbacks down the road.

At Thursday’s protest, they chanted slogans, held colorful handmade signs with phrases like “Homes for Families” and “Say Yes to Affordable Housing,” and set up sleeping bags on the sidewalk to make the point that no one should be left to sleep on the street.

What kind of a country are we living in where we have houses that nobody lives in that have been on the market for years, but there’s still people on the streets struggling every day?” said Matt McLaughlin, a board member of the SCC, whose mission includes affordable housing.

A failed bid to put six units in this building at 162 Highland Avenue has touched off a debate over affordable housing in Somerville. - Photo by Elizabth Sheeran

Many at the rally expressed shock at the denial of the Highland Avenue project, which seemed to have so much going for it. “This was a seemingly perfect proposal,” said the SCC’s Mary Regan, noting that the building is on a main thoroughfare surrounded by multi-family housing. “If we can’t build affordable housing in an existing building on Highland Avenue, and preserve it, then where can we build it?”

Speakers repeatedly reminded the crowd that the proposal had received the support of the Planning Board and a majority of the five-member Zoning Board.

But ZBA members Richard Rosetti and Orsola Susan Fontano, who voted against the proposal, cited concerns about density, indicating they would have been willing to back a plan with fewer units. (The SCC said the project wasn’t financially feasible with less than six units).

Ward 3 Alderman Thomas Taylor and Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan, whose constituencies neighbor the site, were among four Aldermen who opposed the plan. Both recommended reducing the number of units, citing traffic and parking problems, as well as opposition from neighbors.

“I don’t buy it. I just don’t believe that density is the issue here,” said McLaughlin at the rally. He repeated that position later at the Board of Aldermen meeting, where he was invited to speak in support of a resolution put forth by Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz, to look at “the implications of the denial of the permitting for the 162 Highland Avenue property,” and to seek next steps for affordable housing.

“I can take a 10-minute walk around my neighborhood and point out giant apartment complexes that didn’t exist when I grew up. I see houses being shoehorned into places where they didn’t belong. I see triple-deckers that formerly housed three generations of families being gutted for condos,” said McLaughlin.

“All these are being raised with the objections from no one, but suddenly a lone vacant house about to house families with no roof over their head is too dense because it has two units too many,” he said. “The only logical thing I think it can be is that some neighborhoods just don’t want homeless people living next door to them.”

O’Donovan, however, said neighbors of the project didn’t object to the particular tenants.

“That was never an issue raised by any of the abutters in that neighborhood and they shouldn’t be cast in that fashion,” said Alderman O’Donovan. “If you want to build six units on a 5,000 square footprint, you’d better do your homework before you go forward. This is not about being against affordable housing or being against homelessness.”

“The issue for me was never homelessness,” said Alderman Taylor. “The issue for me is overcrowding and density.”

Alderman at Large Dennis Sullivan proposed an amendment to exclude the reference to the Highland Avenue project in Gewirtz’s resolution, saying “162 Highland should not be the focus here. The focus should be how can we all work together to get more affordable housing.” The Council approved the resolution as amended.

For affordable housing advocates, it was at least a small step in the right direction. “We want our local representatives to be on our side when we go before them in the future with other proposals,” said the SCC’s Mary Regan.

But for Ana Ferreira, real progress on affordable housing can’t come soon enough.

“I look forward to having a home for me and my son Matthew, where we can set our own schedules and rules,” said Ferreira. “When that happens, I will be excited to move into my own apartment where I can have my own furniture and be able to sleep in my own bed again.”