Housing Medford gears up for another year of advocacy, how you can help

The term affordable housing can often be confusing. While most people imagine low-cost options, the reality is far different.

According to the city of Medford’s website, affordable housing refers to any housing for which the total cost of rent/mortgage and utilities is no more than 30% of the household’s annual income. And that’s for a family that earns at or below 80% of the area’s median income.

That means a family of four living in the Greater Boston area, which includes Medford, shouldn’t spend more than $3,256 on monthly rent or mortgage payments.

But many families simply cannot afford “affordable housing.”

So, what’s the solution? That’s what Housing Medford is working to figure out.

The volunteer group started in 2018 as the Housing in Medford Coalition and has been working to “identify and advocate for affordable housing solutions that expand options to meet the housing needs of people of different incomes, abilities, and stages of life.”

To that end, a group of 20 people met Feb. 24 to kick off a new year of advocacy in Medford.

Roberta Cameron, who sits on the Steering Committee, said the group has three main priorities: supporting policies and initiatives for more housing, make housing more affordable and support policies that protect consumers, whether they are renters or homeowners.

“We support any opportunity that we see for advocacy in the community,” Cameron said. “We need to change the way that things apply in Medford in order to build more affordable housing.”

Getting involved

Housing Medford is urging not only its members, but others throughout the city to get involved, even if it’s just attending a meeting or contacting elected officials to let them know where you stand on housing and funding issues.

Steering Committee member Alex Lussenhop said the group offers many opportunities for involvement, everything from tracking City Council and Affordable Housing Trust meetings, contributing to a social media presence, organizing social events around affordable housing and monitoring state-level housing issues, among others.

Residents can contact Housing Medford via its website for more ways to participate.

What’s going on?

Housing Medford members also updated residents on what is going on right now in Medford when it comes to affordable housing.

Cameron said the city is currently undergoing a zoning review that started five years ago.

“Our zoning is so out-of-date,” Cameron said. “It hasn’t been updated in probably 80 years.”

The first phase of the zoning review was to bring Medford in line with state laws. That phase was completed and passed in early 2024.

Also passed in December 2024 were updates to the Mystic Avenue corridor and the state MBTA Communities Act, which mandates cities and towns establish “at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right. Where possible, the district must be within a half mile from public transportation (commuter rail, bus station, ferry terminal or subway).”

The city, Cameron said, is now going through its zoning neighborhood by neighborhood. The Salem Street corridor is on the current agenda.

“There’s a lot of public process around this right now,” Cameron said.

Residents can also attend Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability meetings coming up on March 12 and 26.

And the City Council’s Zoning, Planning and Permitting Subcommittee meets every two weeks. The next meeting is scheduled for March 12.

Cameron said there are many other housing projects on the horizon for the city, including Chapter 40B, Medford Housing Authority, private and non-profit led developments.

The city’s website defines Chapter 40B, also known as the Comprehensive Permit Law, as “a state statute that encourages the development of low- and moderate-income housing by providing a streamlined permitting process and relief from local zoning requirements.”

With so much work ahead, Housing Medford is looking for volunteers who want to participate in the city’s future. The group meets on Zoom the third Monday of the month, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The next meeting is scheduled for March 17.