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Mission: “To provide for the creation and preservation of affordable housing in the Town of Natick for the benefit of low and moderate income individuals and families”
The Natick Affordable Housing Trust was formed in February, 2008 through Town Meeting under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 44, Section 55C.
NAHT meetings are held each month in conjunction with the Natick Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC). Each entity maintains separate meeting minutes.
Create Affordable Housing
The core task of the Trust is increasing the availability of affordable housing Natick, a critical ingredient for an equitable community. Outcomes can range from modest, volunteer driven efforts to build a single family house, to complex, multi-unit developments involving multiple partners. The Trust has the authority to buy and sell real estate in an autonomous manner, contributing to our ability to act quickly and efficiently in the development process.
Preserve Affordable Housing
Every time a smaller existing home is torn down and a new, larger, more expensive one is built in its place, Natick loses an affordable dwelling. Only by encouraging builders to construct multiple smaller homes on a given lot can we hope to retain housing affordable by individuals and families of modest means. Changes to the Zoning By-Laws, including the new inclusionary housing and cluster development bylaws, offer tools and incentives for increasing our affordable housing inventory and smaller size houses. At the Trust, we seek to leverage these tools to retain Natick’s affordable housing stock.
Advocate for greater Housing Choice
Trust advocates for a range of housing choices that help maintain and preserve economic and demographic diversity within the town. Natick should offer affordable housing choices for renters, first time home-buyers, those who seek car-free lifestyles in walkable neighborhoods, and to seniors who choose to age in place in barrier-free housing .
“it is hard to argue that housing is not a fundamental human need. Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in this country. The reason is simple: without stable shelter, everything else falls apart.”
― Matthew Desmond, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Contact
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email
Natickgram@gmail.com