What Might Future Housing in Bedford Look Like?

Compiled by Dot Bergin and Meredith McCulloch

The Bedford Citizen joined 80 individuals with a strong interest in housing at two workshops on May 21–one in the afternoon and one in the evening–for a community conversation on the Bedford Housing Strategic Study. The Town Manager and Assistant Town Manager, several Selectmen, the Planning Board Director, the Director of the Council on Aging, and members of other town boards were among those taking part in the sessions.

Note: There is still time until Friday, May 25 to complete Bedford’s housing survey, if you have not already added your thoughts. You can find the survey at https://www.bedfordma.gov/home/news/housing-strategic-study-survey-now-live

State Rep. Ken Gordon stopped by the afternoon workshop; consultant Jennifer Goldson kicked off the event, and regional housing expert Liz Rust presented statistics about changes in housing.

To set the scene, Liz Rust of the Regional Housing Services Organization, presented an overview of the current housing picture in town. Some highlights: (data from the US Census, the American Community Survey; DHCSD Subsidized Housing Inventory-SHI-, Mass Department of Labor and Workforce Development)

Bedford has diverse housing needs.
Housing costs in Bedford are increasingly out of reach.
Sale prices are rising faster than income.
Many people who work in Bedford cannot afford to live here.
Only 11 percent of the housing stock is truly affordable.
The senior population is increasing; seniors are more likely to have low incomes. There are 63 applicants on the wait list for senior/disabled public housing in town; 23 have local preference. About 8 units turn over each year.

Rust also clarified Bedford’s affordable housing, explaining that the town has 18.3 percent, or 974 units, 400 of which are market rate rental units and 10 percent are truly affordable. Some attendees expressed confusion at the way in which “affordable” units are calculated. Rust explained that in the 1970s in order to encourage the suburban towns to build more rental units, the Commonwealth decreed that the total number of units at condominium and apartment buildings such as Avalon Bay and Village at Taylor Pond would count toward a town’s “affordable” units, even though only a percentage are offered at lower than market rate. Thus, Bedford ranks as 18.3 percent affordable. The state only requires that 10 percent of the housing in a town be affordable to comply with Chapter 40B. (The Citizen plans to delve more deeply into the question of affordability in a future article.)

Summary of Liz Rust’s Presentation

“Bedford is a highly desirable community, with a proactive approach to planning. Approaching build out, with fewer vacant buildable properties; recent population growth shows a decrease from 1970-1990; decline in people aged 20-29 hasn’t yet bounced back; [there is an] increase in older residents. Housing stock is generally (43%) older, built between 1950 and 1970. Housing prices are rising, with the redevelopment of existing housing stock. (Redevelopment is the preferred term for ‘tear-downs.’)”

Click https://www.bedfordma.gov/sites/bedfordma/files/uploads/bedford_housing_study_-_community_workshop_final.pdf to view Rust’s slides online at the Town’s website.

A Pair of Questions Posed by Jen Goldson

Housing Consultant Jen Goldson then put attendees to work addressing two questions:

One, the “Visioning” question, asked the group to use “perfect-world” thinking to imagine that the community had a variety of housing options for a range of incomes, lifestyles, family sizes, and needs. How could Bedford allow for more diverse housing types while maintaining the special character of the town, which many say they wish to preserve?
The second question – “Opportunities and Obstacles” – called for using “real-world” thinking to come up with a list of opportunities and obstacles to realizing the ideal housing picture for the town.

Summing up the answers to the “Visioning” question, there was wide agreement that most want to maintain the way Bedford looks now; keeping the smaller houses but allowing a range of pricing from moderate to more expensive.

Participants liked the idea of intergenerational housing and wished that revised zoning would allow for more accessory dwellings and two-family homes. Most speakers hoped their children could afford to live in town.
Accessibility and housing to support people of different levels of mobility or other challenges was a strongly-expressed need.
Parallel to the hope for more housing units was concern about traffic. Some felt transportation options would need to accompany any growth in the number of households.
There is a compelling need for more senior housing. One suggestion: redevelop the Bedford Plaza Hotel property for senior housing. Another would add a second floor of senior housing to the Great Road Shopping Center.
Sustainable housing, energy efficiency to decrease reliance on fossil fuels should be a goal.

In the category of “Opportunities and Obstacles,” some of the following ideas emerged:

“Tiny House” communities: a larger property might be able to add a tiny house, but zoning changes would be required.
Infill housing: any lot that has enough space to put down a livable structure that meets all setbacks is a candidate for housing. Would require major rezoning effort.
Bedford’s buildable land is scarce and becoming scarcer. In some commercially zoned areas, there is a potential for mixed-use housing.
There are major institutions in town with significant land holdings, owned by federal and state governments. Is it possible to reach out to these levels of government and say we want to work with you to acquire some of these lands, to increase the diversity of our housing stock?
There is a large parking lot at the VA Hospital (used by Middlesex College) which might lend itself to underground parking with residences above.
Is there some way to mitigate the cash sale value of tear-downs? Older owners want to sell without having to spend energy and money needed to improve the property; developers see an opportunity to maximize profits by building a large home on the site of the tear-down. Is there some way to partially compensate owners so they realize value out of the sale and still preserve the smaller home?

A final thought from one participant: Most of our zoning was set up to protect large family housing stock when that is what we wanted to do in Bedford. We need to go through all the zoning laws and all the town regulations to see what is standing in the way of doing what we want to do now and get rid of them. (applause.)

Jen Goldson will compile the results of the workshops and prior focus groups in a report that will be reviewed by the Selectmen and other town boards. It is expected to be available for public comment sometime in early autumn.