CBI-Facilitated Housing Production Commission Calls for Major Policy Reforms in Massachusetts

Massachusetts faces a housing crisis, producing roughly half of the new housing needed each year to meet demand and maintain affordability. To address this challenge, Governor Maura Healey tasked the Unlocking Housing Production Commission to seek consensus on ways to remove barriers to housing production in Massachusetts. 

CBI facilitated the Commission’s work in partnership with staff from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. The fourteen Commission members represented diverse interests and values, ranging from affordable housing advocates to state environmental protection officials, town mayors, organized labor, private and non-profit housing developers, and regional planners. The group reached consensus on bold recommendations to remove barriers to multifamily housing production across the state. The recommendations include revising state and local zoning and permitting regulations, increasing economic incentives for housing production, and strengthening the state’s capacity to resolve tradeoffs and maximize joint gains across housing, environment, water, and transportation policies. The Commission’s report is available here.