Housing Partnership advances rent control organizing and plans trust fund revival.
Housing Partnership · Meeting of June 1, 2026
NORTHAMPTON — Housing Partnership charts dual rent control strategy, eyes August formal position. Vice-Chair Hannah Shaffer and members discussed a statewide ballot initiative seeking to lift Massachusetts' ban on rent control, with 88,000 certified signatures from 124,000 gathered statewide in the first round, against a local options bill allowing municipalities to opt in. Members committed to independent op-eds to counter a $30 million opposition campaign and agreed to formalize a collective position by August once ballot status is confirmed.
The partnership also advanced work to revive its Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund, currently dormant with $1,025.64; Gwen Nabad will present a revival plan as part of a CHAPA Housing Fellowship, and Hannah Shaffer, Gwen Nabad, and Yakov Kronrod agreed to meet outside formal sessions to review historic trust fund documents without impacting quorum rules.
In the full story:
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Source: the Housing Partnership meeting of June 1, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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