City Approves More Money for Affordable Housing

The Somerville Board of Aldermen on Nov. 26 increased the "linkage fee" for affordable housing.

The linkage fee requires developers of large real estate projects to pay money into the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Since 2004 that fee has been $3.91 per square foot, but the Board of Aldermen approved a higher linkage fee of $5.15 per square foot.

The fee is incurred on real estate projects that are at least 30,000 square feet in size. Smaller projects don't need to pay the linkage fee.

The city is also considering establishing a separate job creation linkage fee of $1.40 per square foot. Doing so would require approval from the state legislature through a home rule petition.