The Marblehead Housing Coalition, which is dedicated to promoting housing policies to invigorate the town’s future while honoring its history, announced its official launch.
Formed in the wake of the town’s 2024 Town Meeting, during which some residents narrowly voted down a proposed 3A rezoning plan, the coalition was established to advocated for pro-housing policies and community-centered development.
The coalition supports increased housing choices for people who want to stay in or move to the town, but face challenges like high costs of living and undiversified housing stock.
The coalition believes that Marblehead has a role to play in Massachusetts’ and the nation’s efforts to solve housing challenges and ensure the community thrives by bolstering economic development and public finances.
“We recognize that is a bold claim, but we aim to advance that claim. For example, lagged housing values make school funding more difficult,” Nick Ward, one of the coalition’s organizers, said.
According to the coalition, the town’s budget challenges are partly a result of stagnant growth in housing and associated economic development, and 3A zoning represents a valuable opportunity to address these structural problems.
“Our argument is not that we pass 3A zoning because the state says we have to. Our argument is we should pass 3A zoning because it is good for Marblehead,” Ward said.
Marblehead’s 3A zoning proposal would allow the development of multi-family housing in three districts around Marblehead, centered on Tioga Way, Pleasant Street and Broughton The proposal contains height limits and minimum lot sizes to align any new housing consistent with agreed-upon parameters.
Marblehead residents are invited to join the effort and get involved by signing up to receive email updates via the coalition’s website at https://www.marbleheadhousingcoalition.com