During the legislative session on Saturday July 29, 2000, Senate Bill 2211 nearly finished its legislative journey, passing through the House of Representatives on its way to the Governor’s desk for signature before it ultimately became a law. Strenuously opposed by Representative Barrios from the start, the bill will allow the Lowell Housing Authority to demolish the 284-unit, Julian D. Steele state-funded public housing development and build a mixed-income development of 180 single-family homes duplexes.

Representative Barrios actively opposed this bill due to its negative impact on the state’s affordable housing stock and the racially disparate impact on minorities in Lowell. This bill’s impact will reach beyond the City of Lowell. It has dangerous implications for the future of all state public housing - and for the status of fair housing enforcement in Massachusetts.

It is feared that Senate Bill 2211 will set a state-wide precedent for the future of state and federal housing policy. By passing this law, the state will allow Lowell to circumvent normal state housing regulations and will severely hamper its power to deny municipalities wishing to demolish state funded public housing.

Additionally, the bill’s passage effectively wastes $27 million in state funding and bond investment, since these funds were recently spent to start rehabilitation of the Julian Steele housing project. The bill also freezes the waiting list for public housing in Lowell for two years while Julian Steele residents are relocated. Thirdly, the bill runs the risk of violating federal and state fair housing laws.

Although members of the legislature passed Senate Bill 2211 overwhelmingly, Representative Barrios introduced two amendments that passed the House of Representatives and were attached to the final Julian Steele bill that was signed by the Governor.

One of the two Barrios amendments will delay demolitions of other state-funded public housing until a comprehensive study of the state’s housing stock is completed. The amendment directs the appointment of a special commission to develop new program initiatives for state-funded housing developments like Julian Steele. The commission will be led by the chairman of the Joint Housing and Community Development Committee, but it will also include representatives from housing organizations, directors of public housing moderation needs of state public housing, make recommendations for funding mechanisms and develop criteria for replacement housing where there may be a reduction of units. Because Senate Bill 2211 allows a municipality to demolish state-funded public housing without state approval, the commission is an important step in affirming the state’s role in future public housing decisions.

Senate Bill 2211 also creates an annual state appropriation of $600, 000 to help the Lowell Housing Authority develop additional affordable housing units in Lowell. However, the bill offered no guarantee that these units would remain affordable. Through introduction and passage of a second successful amendment, Representative Barrios was able to ensure that the $600, 000 annual fund will be used to create “permanently” affordable rental units.

Representative Barrios plans to remain actively involved in the Julian Steele issue because he believes that no affordable housing should be demolished without a funded plan in place to replace units that low- and very-low income families can afford. The affordable housing crisis in Massachusetts is too large to exacerbate it further.

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