Lawmakers' focus on housing must bring efforts home

By The Herald Editorial Board

With less than a week remaining in its regular session, the state Legislature has work remaining to deliver on what was to have been a major focus on affordable housing this year.

Among legislation that has failed to advance were bills that would have capped rent increases at the rate of inflation or 3 percent, including for tenants of mobile home parks, and another that would have allowed larger apartment buildings near transit lines and also would have required developers of certain projects to set aside 20 percent of units for affordable housing.

Still under consideration are policy and budget proposals that could meet a formidable need to increase the supply of housing — especially affordable housing — throughout the state.

The state will need an additional 1.1 million new residences in the next 20 years, of which nearly 800,000 units will need to be either apartment complexes or multi-plex housing, according to the state Department of Commerce.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-lawmakers-focus-on-housing-must-bring-efforts-home/