Boston Mayor Michelle Wu slams Josh Kraft’s housing plan, ‘fake rent control’ pitch
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu bashed her opponent Josh Kraft’s new housing plan, saying that his “fake rent control” pitch was merely a distraction from his “real” proposal to dismantle affordability requirements for new housing developments.
Wu made her comments Wednesday, hours after Kraft unveiled his new housing plan, which was packaged with pointed criticism of the mayor’s policies that he says have hindered housing production and exacerbated affordability issues.
“The proposal is that this sort of fake rent control would be implemented,” Wu said on GBH’s Boston Public Radio. “What we saw today was that this has been a distraction, because the real policy underneath all this … is to dismantle affordability requirements, and in fact take us back to a time when it was anything goes for developers making money at the expense of affordability.”
Kraft’s new housing plan, per his campaign, seeks to jumpstart the production of more than 26,000 housing units that have been permitted by the city but not yet built, which his campaign estimates would garner an estimated $100 million to $120 million of new tax revenue annually.
Part of his strategy, which Wu was criticizing, revolves around reverting back to an inclusionary housing development policy that was in place under the former Mayor Marty Walsh administration. That would nix the updates that were added by the Wu administration and became effective this past October.
His proposal would trigger the city’s inclusionary zoning policy for market-rate housing developments with 10 units or more, rather than seven at least, and require a lower percentage of income-restricted units, from today’s 17-20% to 13%.
Wu also dismissed Kraft’s claims that her polices had stalled the construction of more than 26,000 housing units, saying that they were permitted under “old rules.”
She further pointed to a $110 million housing accelerator fund she proposed that was passed by the City Council. The fund is aimed at jumpstarting the production of permitted units that have held up for lack of necessary financing.
Wu, 40, said Kraft’s proposed opt-in rent control program, which is billed as incentivizing landlords to cap rent increases for a 10-year period in exchange for an annual property tax break, “is not going to capture or protect against the worst offenders.”
The mayor, whose rent control bill has stalled on Beacon Hill, expressed support, however, for a similar “good landlord” tax abatement proposal that would incentivize property owners to keep rents low and has been making its way through the City Council.
Put forward by Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, the measure, approved by the Council on Wednesday, would see the city opt into tax legislation sponsored by state Sen. Lydia Edwards.
“It’s already in the pipeline for the city to do something on this front.” Wu said. “We have to be clear about what the parameters are to participate, what the level of tax break is that makes sense for the city, and we’ll get into all that.”
The campaign for Kraft, a 57-year-old son of the billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and head of the family’s philanthropic arm, quickly hit back.
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Kraft’s campaign said it was untrue that the 26,000 stalled units were permitted under old rules, saying city data it’s reviewed showed the majority of those projects have inclusionary development policies “north of 13%.”
“The groundswell of support from all corners of the city for Josh’s candidacy is clearly concerning Mayor Wu, and today’s comments are a weak attempt to change the conversation away from her failure to create housing and real pathways to affordable homeownership,” the Kraft campaign said in a statement.
“Josh’s opt-in rent control plan would provide real relief to renters, unlike Mayor Wu’s failed plan that has helped no one. This is yet another unfulfilled promise which Mayor Wu needs to explain to voters instead of calling names and making excuses. We need a mayor focused on solutions.”
