A half-dozen residents have formed a new coalition to advocate for increased housing diversity in Marblehead. The Marblehead Housing Coalition, launched on July 25, aims to promote housing choice, share fact-based information and advocate for the passage of the proposed rezoning plan under the MBTA Communities Act.
A 33-vote margin decided the fate of a zoning proposal at May’s Town Meeting. Voters rejected the plan, designed to meet state multifamily housing mandates. The town now faces a Dec. 31 deadline to adopt the statute. Non-compliance could result in penalties handed down and lawsuits filed against Marblehead by the state.
“We think this is good for Marblehead,” resident Nick Ward, a founding member of the coalition, told the Current. The coalition has garnered support from some local officials, including Select Board member Dan Fox.
“It’s good to have the other side organized, to offset the ‘nos’ and to get some true information out there,” Fox said, believing the coalition “can be very helpful, if and when, we go back to town meeting.”
The coalition supports increased housing options for current and prospective residents who face challenges such as high living costs and a lack of diverse housing stock. They argue that additional housing choices will create a more thriving, sustainable and inclusive community.
Ward pointed to the real-world impacts of Marblehead’s limited housing options, citing multiple examples of residents struggling to remain in town or being forced to leave. Most notably, Louis Meyi recently resigned from Marblehead’s Housing Production Plan Implementation Committee after being forced to move out of town due to the very housing issues he was working to address.
“It left me with a feeling of sadness,” said Ward. “But then, to me, I also think it’s unjust.”
Ward also highlighted other examples: “There is a member of our Housing Coalition who’s staring down the barrel of the exact same thing. She wants to stay in Marblehead but she doesn’t want to stay in her family home. She literally cannot find a unit of housing.”
Ward spoke to another member who grew up in Marblehead but plans to move elsewhere due to affordability issues.
According to the Marblehead Housing Production Plan, the town’s demographics have shifted significantly over the past five decades. The number of children under 17 has fallen from 6,700 in 1970 to fewer than 4,400 today, while the median age has increased from 34 to 50 during the same period.
Ward believes these changes underscore the need for action.
“We need to recognize that the goal here is to diversify the housing stock,” he said. “We need to get people comfortable with the idea that we can develop Marblehead in a gentle, incremental way that is good for the town.”
The proposed MBTA rezoning plan aims to create three districts totaling 58.4 acres and allow 15.9 dwellings per acre, surpassing the state law’s requirement for Marblehead to rezone at least 27 acres. Critics have voiced concerns about impacts on infrastructure, schools and Marblehead’s character. Some argue that the state has no right to dictate local zoning decisions.
Fox alleges misinformation played a role in the initial rejection of the plan. “There was misinformation about what type of housing would come to Marblehead,” he said.
Ward contends the opposition may be based on misunderstandings about the economic impacts of new housing development. “We are hearing this idea that building more housing makes property values come down,” Ward said. “But that understanding is based on neither the data nor the economic model that underpins that assumption.”
According to MassGIS data that Ward crunched, single-family home values have grown more slowly in Marblehead compared to neighboring communities that have built more housing. He argues that by not building more housing, Marblehead has lost out on opportunities for new growth tax revenue. This, in return, has contributed to the town’s challenging financial state, given the constraints of Proposition 2½. The state law limits annual increases in property tax levies.
The coalition aims to dig deeper, using data to prove that Marblehead’s stagnant growth is a self-inflicted wound, caused by its own restrictive zoning policies.
Ward acknowledges that changing minds will take time, and the coalition’s goals extend beyond a single issue.
“Three A zoning is just the beginning, not the end,” said Ward. “Our goal is not to pass 3A zoning and that’s it, wipe our hands and go home. We’re not going anywhere.”
Ward continued: “We need people with a lot of agency, who are both invested in the issue and highly motivated to really roll up their sleeves and do stuff. We also need people who recognize that we’ve got to solve the market-rate portion before we can effectively address affordability.”
Fox indicated town officials are considering next steps regarding the 3A complaince vote.
“Everything is being explored,” Fox said. “I expect us to make a decision at some point [in the next month or two].”
Ward invites Marblehead residents to join the coalition and get involved. To receive email updates via the coalition website, visit marbleheadhousingcoalition.com.
