City Council - Regular Meeting

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We are going to get started. It is now 433. Welcome to the General Government Subcommittee meeting of the Springfield City Council. We have one item on the agenda, and that is the discussion on rent control resolution. I know my colleague who is on the General Government Committee, Jerry Martin, is on his way, but I just assumed we would get started in his absence. I'm also joined by Councilor Walsh, as well as Councilor Clay Bruce. And if we could just start by going around the room, introducing yourself, if you're part of an organization, please identify which organization you're a part of, and then we'll get started.

Erica Cruz, National Center for Civic Empowerment.

I'm Katie Talbot. I'm with Springfield No One Leaves and a resident of Pine Point. I'm Tyler Jones. I'm with Springfield No One Leaves and a resident at Forest Park.

Joseph Bonilla, neighbor to neighbor Massachusetts and a resident of Springfield as well.

I'm Michael Wright. I'm with Springfield No One Leaves as well.

Perfect. And we're also now joined by Councilor Jerry Martin. So we actually have a forum. What we'll do is we'll just go through the resolution that is being proposed. Myself, as well as Councilor Govan, are the lead sponsors of this resolution. I'm not muted? I think I'm unmuted here. Can you all hear me?

We can hear you.

Okay, all right, good. So what I'd like to do is I'd like to just review the resolution, sort of highlight some of the salient points, and then have a discussion amongst the council. If we have additional time after we've had our discussion, then we'll certainly open it up to the public, and we'll go from there. Sounds good? All right, so the resolution that is being proposed reads as follows. Whereas the rapidly escalating cost of housing in Springfield has created profound instability for renters, placing many seniors, essential workers, and families at risk of displacement and housing insecurity. And whereas... As of 2023, 24% of Springfield renters are housing cost burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on housing costs. And of those, 31% are severely cost burdened, paying 50% or more of their income. Whereas rent control was banned through a 1994 statewide ballot question by the aggregate of Massachusetts voters, despite Springfield voters supporting the continuation of rent control by a significant margin. And whereas the current Massachusetts statute currently prohibits rent control so that Springfield cannot address this problem without legislative action on the state level, Now, therefore, be it resolved, the Springfield City Council supports Bill H-2328 and Senate Bill 1447. an act enabling cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants, calling for the repeal of a statewide rent control preemptions, allowing cities and towns to institute rent stabilization measures and implement tenant protections with exemptions for owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer units and for newly constructed buildings and be it further resolved that the city clerk is hereby requested to transmit a copy of this resolution to the attorney general, the Springfield delegation of the Massachusetts legislature, the mayor of Springfield, and the governor of the Commonwealth. So this particular resolution as a quick summary of what it is that I just read is really in support of our former colleague, State Senator Adam Gomez, his proposal and the State Senate, which is currently hopefully going to move forward. And we certainly want to give it the extra added oomph that it might need to pass through the legislature. And just to highlight, I mean, I know all of you probably have reasons why you may or may not be supporting rent control. But just to recap, this particular resolution is not the end all be all. What this resolution does is it allows for localities to adopt it if they so choose. And so this resolution is merely in support of the legislation that Adam has put forward. But in order for it to become law, we need to adopt it either as a city council or through city charter or through an actual ballot question that goes before the voters of the city of Springfield. So regardless of how you feel on this, if you feel that local control, that we should have local control over rent control, then one would think that you would support this particular resolution uh and once um you know once this legislation passed it will come back before or could potentially come back before the city council if we so choose in the form of an ordinance um and then we can have an even more robust debate as to whether it is uh folks agree with rent control um as part of the legislation um it So one, the municipalities will need to opt in. Two, folks or landlords will not be able to raise the rent more than 5% or more than what the CPI is, consumer price index, is that CPI? Of 3.8%, which is what it is now. So whichever one is lower, that's the highest that the landlords will be able to raise the rent. And then in addition, there will be a five-year waiver for new development. So any individual who comes in and wants to build four or more units, I'm sorry, five or more units, then this will not apply for the first five years. And we have to have a cause for, landlords have to have an actual just cause for eviction. So those are the highlights. Just a quick sort of antidote from my life. I'm strongly in favor of this resolution as well as rent control. We talk about our young people and we talk about wanting to keep young people here in the city of Springfield. I don't necessarily call myself young, but my brother who is of a similar age is an educator in the Springfield Public Schools. He was living downtown at Silver Brick. Right now, he said that his rent would have gone for a one bedroom apartment would have been somewhere around $1,800. And for him was way too much for him to be able to afford. And that was as an educator here in the Springfield public school system. So if we're talking about attracting and retaining young talent here in the city of Springfield, we need to be mindful of how it is that we're going about doing that. And one thing that we know is a problem are the rising rents that are impacting not just families, but even those young professionals here in the city of Springfield who we're looking to retain. So with that said, I will turn it over to any of my colleagues who might have questions on the resolution or just want to speak from their perspective in terms of rent control and this resolution more importantly. I'll ask you questions. Any comments? Yes. Councilor Martin.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I will be supporting this resolution as a young man, very similar to the points you were making just now. Many peers, myself included, looking to start their lives and start their families and families. Obviously the price of housing and whatnot is out of control. And this would be a much needed step in correction for that. So I'd like to thank the activism of Ms. Talbot in the room for really raising this issue to the level where it's at and putting it on all of our radars. Look forward to supporting it and having a go for the council floor.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Martin, Councilor Walsh. I see your hand raised, followed by Councilor Click-Bruce.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for that quite, that explanation. There is so much in it, and I appreciate Senator Gomez putting it forward. I think that... Everything in it rings true. And one of the things that concerns me about the high cost of rent is that young people cannot, not even young, people cannot find a rent that they can afford. It impacts the quality of life. So I'll be supporting the resolution. And I know there's many groups here today. I think it's important to know that Mass Senior Action Commission is strongly in favor of the proposal. And I believe they will be coming to the public speaker to support this motion. I plan on voting for it.

Thank you, Councilor Walsh. Councilor Click-Bruce.

Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Hurst. I'm a little under the weather, so excuse me not being on camera. But I will look to support this resolution as well. It's actually hitting home with me right now. I have a young adult, my daughter, who's 26. still currently living with me and my wife and we're trying to find suitable rental for her. And right now she is, it's hard for her to find anything. So this is something that is actually personal to me and also hearing from all the advocacy and also the challenges that we hear throughout the community as well. But I also want to put a personal testimony on it as well. So I, again, I look to support this. Please add my name to the resolution as well. And I will be getting off because I'm not feeling well, but I did want to get on to support this great initiative for the city of Springfield. Thank you.

I appreciate you, Councilor Click-Bruce. I hope you get well soon. And just adding to the need for rent control, if you just look at everything Right. From the price of food to the cost of utilities to taxes that ultimately, you know, when the taxes go up for landlords at the end of the day, you know, they're going to pass that buck on to the tenants. And so if there's some sort of reasonable cap, which I think is certainly important. that it would make sense. So with that being said, I want to read Zahida's testimonial that she sent to me. She's sorry that she couldn't be here, but she said that, She said, from what I've seen in other communities that have rent control, it has been able to help many residents who live in those communities stay there. I want to help us keep the great talent that we have and maybe attract more residents. especially in our police department and our school department, because the people who work there could just be starting off maybe just out of college or out of high school even. And they're going to need somewhere to live that is affordable and that can continue to stay affordable. The people who are opposing rent control are mostly realtors and landlords who don't understand the ramifications of increasing rent without any regard to their circumstances. When I was teaching at UMass downtown, one of my students came in one day and said that he would have to move out of the apartment that he had downtown because the landlord raised his rent from 900 to 1300 a month. We had to move out because we could not afford to stay there. These are the kinds of situations that we are trying to avoid. And more importantly, this shows our support and endorses Senator Gomez's bill that is a much better option than what we have on the table now. And I just wanna add, oftentimes I hear this is gonna stunt the increase in housing here in the city of Springfield. And I would like to point out that the housing that I see being built here in the city of Springfield no one or very few people who live in the city of Springfield can afford. I guess folks can make the argument, but I've yet to see anybody building real affordable housing that ultimately is going to combat what it is that we're dealing with now. So with that said, I certainly appreciate my colleagues. I know there are other organizations. We'll certainly give you all two minutes if you want to chime in and give your experience. I know there are some folks that are going to go back and watch and listen to this video once they realize that this is going to be on the agenda on Monday. So we'll give you all the opportunity to chime in. And, you know, we just start on this side of the room if folks want to say something and just go all the way around.

Rents in the last three years have increased 37% in Hamden County and in Springfield. Our incomes have not increased in the same rate. So who are these homes for? Who are these rents for? They're not for the people that have made Springfield the city that it is, that I love, that I've come back to. And if we want to have a city where people get to stay and build roots in which creates both better small businesses, better schools, better communities. We need to make sure that the housing is affordable, safe, and dignified for them to stay there.

Thank you. Sarah.

So as a former board member at Allen Park, I just wanted to note that even though that's affordable housing, affordable housing is also not affordable. So people assume that affordable housing, all these people are paid 30% of their income. But it's unaffordable. And when our residents, their rent goes up, they don't give them enough time to adjust to the new income or to the new rental or whatever. And it comes to the same when it comes to the recertification. They have cameras on Allen Park. So it's not like you can sit there and just move anybody in. You have to report who's in your home. So two income households, they end up paying market rent. And Allen Park is close to $3,000 in market rent. It's double a regular landlord's. And I understand why landlords also bring up their rent because property taxes are going up. But I think it's important for the city to also consider stop raising property taxes. Because if we stop raising the property taxes, the rent won't go up. And that's all I can say.

Is there anyone else that would like to chime in?

I'll just add that understanding that 90% of Springfield's housing stock, five units or more are corporate owned.

Yes.

Right? We are not the city of homes. anymore. Home ownership is often unattainable. And the cliff effect is real, right? And understanding, do we want the developers who are afraid of rent control, do we really want them developing in our communities? You know, if they're afraid to come here because we enact a local option, they're not the landlords that we actually want doing business in our

I'll chime in. Just to say that I guess I fall in the category of young professional in Springfield, but I was born and raised here and have existed in Springfield my whole life until about two years ago where I was pushed out because I just couldn't afford housing anymore. And so now I live all the way in Northampton, which doesn't feel like a drive until you have to do it. But I'm still like working in Springfield and serving this community and down for this cause because this is my home and this is where I want to be. And so, yeah, like I hear stories just like that from peers of mine all the time, every day. And so some of the ways that that boils down for people my age, I'm 32, is people end up in rooming situations that are unsafe or unstable. People end up with very tricky, manipulative landlords, and that puts them in situations, again, that are unsafe. People have to give up their support animals, which matters when we think about mental health and that sort of thing, because landlords here, not only can you not afford them, but if you can, you can't have your pet. Or they're out of fee every month. And in my particular case, I just had a landlord, and thanks to conversations with Katie, who was like, pump the brakes, my landlord tried to tell me that she was, I should have spent... until the end of the year because I asked her to give me a heads up that she's been going up and I'm reaching my max. So she told me that I should expect the rent increase. And luckily I was able to talk to someone like Katie and be told that that's illegal. But that happens to peers of mine all the time who don't get that information and get taken advantage of. So when we think about all of the stories we're hearing, this also contributes to homelessness in our community of like very young people, right? So yeah, that's just sort of something that I'm hearing often and part of my experience.

The property tax, just as a homeowner in the city of Springfield, understanding that property tax is based on the comparable sales in your neighborhood, right? That's where that total comes from. And we have speculators coming in, buying these houses at cash price. offers instead of financing, that's driving those property taxes, right? That is pushing out our elders and our elders are going into the rental communities and they only get a 3% increase. They're on fixed income. Our different labels are on fixed income. The property tax is really limiting what speculators can buy in our neighborhoods.

And I want to add on that too. I wanted to add on that the new housing developments, I don't have no problem with new houses, but they're half a million dollars. And then my mom lives in Ward 8 in the corner of Bay and Berkshire. And before those new housing developments next to the Shell gas station,

Your mom and I must be neighbors.

The property taxes have gone up there, right? They've been unaffordable for my mom and she's on a fixed income. She's retired on a fixed income and she struggles with her property taxes. Sometimes I have to come out of pocket to help my mom. It's unaffordable.

And so as folks raise these rents to be unaffordable, you know, it's also having a significant impact on those who are on the fixed income.

So, yes. Yeah. So they want to go up to $1,200, but give me nothing. Don't come in and fix the walls. Don't come in and fix anything, the ceiling, nothing. And as far as I know, none of that stuff has been fixed since I moved out. So it's just, it's actually disgusting. Maintenance issues. Yes.

Excuse me.

Sorry. So, Councilor Davila, I know you have just joined us. We will likely give you the final words, or if you have any questions, you certainly can ask them probably after the next two speakers.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the wonderful conversation. I would say that we here in the city of Springfield, we need to do something to address this issue with rent. I believe last numbers that I looked at was something like 51 or 57 percent in Hamden County. of people are a cost burden, meaning they spend more than half of their monthly income in rent. Something we've got to do, otherwise we're going to have an energy displacement in our hands in the future. But thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you everybody for showing up.

Appreciate you, Counselor. Yes. putting us together, calling this meeting to order and, you know, discussing a matter that is near and dear to a lot of residents here. You know, I think that I don't really talk about my age too much, but I'm 22. I'm a recent baccalaureate grad and I live at home. I mean, like, you know, and that's the thing is, that's the truth for us. So God bless you. That is the reality for so many people who I graduated with. Like literally every single person that I know from my class is literally living at home, working full time, doing something so that they can save money and, you know, afford the rent. And the people who graduated maybe two or three years ago are living in cohabitation spaces. So, you know, they can't afford to live on their own. They have to like either have a partner to share rent with or do whatever. And like the truth is that when we look back at maybe two, three, four decades ago, the expectation was that, you know, you you go to school, you find a good job, you get a home, you get married and so on and so forth. We can't afford homes. I mean, like literally, you know, and it's an important reality to consider because earlier, Mr. Chair, you mentioned the youth and our older generation. I studied gerontology in college, you know, and by 2035 and 2040, one third of the U.S. population is going to be 65 plus. And in Massachusetts, it's going to be even higher. And when we're looking at the burden of these taxes, these tax increases, these rent increases, are we going to throw everyone to the streets, Mr. Chair? We're looking at Springfield and we have a pandemic situation of you know a lot of people who are increasingly experiencing housing insecurity or um even being homeless and the thing is that you know a lot of average day people i'm sure many people in this room have had to choose between do i have enough groceries do i pay this bill do i have like i i remember i remember stories from college of people saying hey like you know like this is like decade ago, people were talking about like when they were younger, they had to boil like water to take showers because they couldn't pay gas. So, you know, they had to do that in order to stay home, you know, and there's so many stories here. And I really do encourage your Mr. Chair and your colleagues to not only consider supporting this bill, co-sponsoring it, but also be vehement supporters of it because these are your residents that are being impacted every day. You're driving to City Hall and you pass many, many places where I'm sure you've seen people walking down the streets. And I mean, there was a survey done, a climate survey done in the middle of the storm last year or earlier this year, a homelessness survey. And we were in the middle of a literal blizzard and there was more than 17 people fouled outside to actually do the survey. That is what we're talking about. That's what does it take here. So, you know, when you consider this bill, and for the colleagues that aren't here and are watching later on, when you're considering this, you are not only considering housing, you're considering human dignity. So I hope that y'all support this bill or support this resolution, excuse me, and consider moving not just words into a resolution, but also a resolution to action. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Yes, we will wrap it up with you.

I'm organizing a neighbor to neighbor. And one of the biggest thing I, or the most popular concerning thing that members bring to the table is the concern about housing, right? And just statistically looking, this is an immediate need in our community. There is no way that people paying 50 to 70% of their income, they're being able to pay rent, then worry about childcare. There's many issues that comes from the overall issue, which is the systemic and it's the data. Yes, it caused overcrowding. Yes, it caused people to be stressed out, overwhelmed, mental instability, right? Properties being messed up. But if the cause, the main issue is not being addressed, I mean, I think that falls well under dignity. Let's give ourselves the chance to give the support the community needs so people could have dignified housing and also feel dignity on their own and not be criticized in this way. One of the things that was most impactful for me, hearing from one of my members, the most recent, is growing up in a group home, being home insecure by losing, not being with her parents. But as an adult, when she felt she was getting the assistance, it was a continuous pattern. When she couldn't, RAF program was there, but they didn't want to accept the program. Been homeless for three years now, and still there's a housing insecurity. And I think that for humanity, it's very insane for the mental stability and for what we have functioning our system to take care of our people. It's important that we feel secure and we have a place called home. Me, myself, My rent increased $300 from one month to another with no warning. And because that was $300 in one month. And then they still wanted more because it was a single family property that I was renting. They wanted more. So they was like, you know what, we're going to remodel. And if you can't pay, first I had to pay for me to get out and provide shelter for my family for them to remodel. Second, they wanted to increase the rent another $600. That's the house, the only house my children knew for the past seven years. How do you explain these things to your children? So what I'm saying is, like, this is a systemic issue that we need a level of stability. For a place that we could come home, that we could be able to afford, our wages is not quite making it. We're neglecting our children because we have to work 10, 15 hours, 80 hours a week in order to make ends meet. We are crying for your help. We are crying for your support. It was proven through signatures that across all Massachusetts, people are asking and pleading for this help and assistance. We have Greenfield that have signed audio that is getting on board and other municipalities in the area. And we ask for. Our city council that in several state has made it public that we will support grant control to please sign the resolution. This resolution is non-binding. This resolution is just putting on paper where we could put, let the state know that we are in favor and our people is pleading for this help.

Certainly appreciate that testimony. And I'm encouraging all of you to sign up. I think the entire body ought to hear from you. I think your testimonies resonate and resonate even more, I would imagine, with those individuals that are on the fence in terms of what it is that they want to do. But I couldn't agree with you more in terms of us really backing this resolution and Senator Gomez. Are there any other last minute statements from counselors before we wrap this meeting up? If not, I was, yes.

Sorry, I know I came a little late, but we're really happy to see this moving forward in Springfield because, you know, I can tell you guys countless stories. We're statewide. I'm starting with Boston when we're trying to push this forward. And, you know, really folks are sort of passing the buck. and develop, you know, folks are saying, well, we've done all we can do. Let's push you out. When people are being pushed out so far, there's no other place to be pushed out for. And from Mass Senior Action's perspective, it's like housing is a human right. And so they have been speaking out on this statewide. And I was really happy to share that Springfield is really looking at this resolution and pushing it forward because we all know it's a crisis. and we have to be at the table together so that we can solve this crisis. You know, I think the stories are endless. I can share one of our members, Joe, who's a retired taxi cab driver, hearing this speech. You know, over maybe two years ago, we began to notice this in-house sort of with him, and he'd lived in this building for years, and All of a sudden, a new developer purchased it and his rent went from close to 40%. And he simply can't afford that. He's on a fixed income. And so he was greatly scrambling for a good while, thought he had a good relationship. Everyone thinks they have a good relationship with their landlord until money comes and they can realize that they can charge more. And so I think that We are at a point where it's almost criminal to have it be charged more because, you know, I think as city councilor Walsh hit it on the nail, we're talking about a quality of life and people deserve to have a great quality of life. They deserve to have a safe home to live in and one that's affordable. The rising cost of rents here in the city is not explainable. When residents can't afford it, when seniors are priced out, when they can't afford their income tax and now sort of like living in crowded facilities, that's unsafe and the quality of life they deserve better. And we think that we can do better. And so I'm really glad for your leadership on this. And thank you and Zeta Govan. I think you guys are pushing this forward and we're really excited to back this and certainly we'll be there Monday.

you so much. Counselor Walsh, why don't you take us home, Counselor Walsh?

Sounds good. I just want to thank everybody for their personal stories. They're so heartfelt. I mean, listening to the testimony today makes me hope that we have unanimous support on Monday for this resolution and supporting Adam in the Senate. Tracy, I didn't see you sneak in. I don't know. I don't know if you were here when I talked about you earlier, but I did mention you're such a great advocate. I did mention you'd be coming Monday night and always happy to support mass senior action because housing's not only an issue for the young, it's an issue for the old.

Right, thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Walsh. So with that being said, if we could have a motion, not only to send this to the full committee, but to send this to the full committee with the approval of the subcommittee.

So moved.

Motion made by Councilor Martin. Councilor Walsh, I don't think you're a part of this. Certainly appreciate your energy.

You have an invalid vote.

Councilor Davila, did you want to second that motion?

Yeah, second.

Thank you, Councilor Davila. All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay. Aye is happy. We will see you all on Monday.

Thank you for this meeting.

Motion to adjourn the meeting. Second. Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you all.