Waltham City Councilor Paz Rebukes Housing Resolution Vote

Press release from Waltham City Councilor Paz (Ward 9):

March 25, 2021

The Waltham Rules and Ordinances Committee filed the “Resolution for Realistic Affordable Housing” March 15, terminating discussion and returning the matter to the council body with a negative recommendation. The resolution questioned how Waltham thinks about rental affordability. By filing it, they ended an important conversation around rents and their relationship to housing developments.

Councilor Paz stated: “There is a surplus of vacant luxury apartments in existing 40B developments within this city. To blindly accept 40B’s as the preordained housing solution and restrict any public discussion is not just bad public policy but it’s also bad form. It is a dereliction of duty to all the renters struggling to make ends meet.”

There is a housing affordability crisis in the city. This is a time where a growing number of Waltham families are near-eviction or near-foreclosure and the COVID eviction moratorium is set to end. Even the most casual observer doesn’t need an expert to tell them that rent is too expensive. The least the Waltham City Council can do is debate housing affordability seriously.

This resolution was eliminated at record speed. The resolution did not exist longer than 2 months before the Ward 8 Councilor Harris moved to eliminate it without any serious debate. This was voted on at 1AM, without informing the creator of the resolution -Ward 9 Councilor Paz. The Council has the ability to vote to continue conversation by a majority vote on Monday’s (3/22) City Council meeting at 7.30pm.

This press release was produced by Waltham City Councilor Paz (Ward 9). The views expressed here are the author's own.