| Leaders of AARP have expressed their support for the Baker-Polito Housing Choice Initiative in a meeting with Gov. Charlie Baker and other members of the administration. Their discussion focused on Massachusetts’ aging population and the need to provide them with diverse housing options.
The Baker-Polito Administration’s Housing Choice Initiative would create a new system of incentives and rewards for municipalities that deliver sustainable housing growth; create a new technical assistance toolbox to help cities and towns to plan for new housing production and deliver zoning at the local level through proposed legislative reforms. The ability to rezone more easily will increase multifamily housing production near town centers or transit access, facilitating community involvement and travel by older adults.
“The vast majority of people age 50 and older want to stay in their homes and communities for as long as possible. Gov. Baker’s Housing Choice bill addresses the availability, affordability and variety of housing options, which are very important to AARP and are woven into our Age Friendly Community and State principles,” Mike Festa, AARP Massachusetts state director, said in a statement.
In Massachusetts, there are more people over the age of 60 than under the age of 20 and older adults will make up 23 percent of the commonwealth’s population by 2035. To meet the impending needs of this fast-growing demographic, Baker established the Governor’s Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts, which has provided recommendations to promote healthy aging and other age-friendly initiatives across the state.
The Housing Choice Initiative will deliver more than $10 million in incentives, grant funding and technical assistance per year, and will help Massachusetts reach a new goal of creating 135,000 housing units over the next seven years.
