patrick white

donate Patrick White for 3rd Berkshire
Online or by mail: Patrick Thomas White Committee • 81 Hawthorne St. • Lenox, MA 01240

Our Housing Challenge

Home ownership and rentals are both under siege.

Numbers don't lie. 25 years ago, the median home price was around 4-6 times the median local income depending on the town. Today, that's skyrocketed to around 14 times. Prices are up nearly 100% in just five years in towns like Lenox, Lee, and Great Barrington. The Eagle ran a story, based on a tip I provided, detailing some data I uncovered related to cash purchases. Cash purchases of homes are up over 50% in many communities.

Rentals are just as bad: Another Eagle story estimated an average income needed of $56,000 just to be able to afford an apartment.

Affordability isn't just an issue of subsidized affordable housing. If folks can't afford a home, they can't choose the Berkshires as their forever home.

What I have done.

Here are the results I've achieved related to housing issues in Stockbridge and Berkshire County:

  • I inserted the provision into our short-term rental bylaw banning "professional operators" from short-term rentals in Stockbridge. This single line protects us from the large real estate corporations coming in and buying our homes at scale. It is the most important line anyone considering a short-term rental bylaw should include in their local law.
  • I consulted with four surrounding towns on their short-term rental bylaws as a volunteer.
  • I ran on a housing platform and successfully established a Stockbridge Affordable Housing Trust, and got it funded in three funding rounds at our Community Preservation Committee, on which I sit.
  • I have consistently supported funding from CPC for our three affordable housing partners in town.
  • I wrote the strongest Residential Inclusionary Bylaw in Berkshire County, one that requires developers of luxury housing to either set aside one in ten units as affordable or pay the equivalent value into our local trust.
  • I worked closely over multiple years with a local family that culminated in the donation of a million dollar parcel for affordable and workforce housing development.
  • I wrote our proposed Accessory Dwelling Unit bylaw.
  • I successfully championed the funding of our Housing Production Plan with federal ARPA funding to create a roadmap for housing in our town. To date we've had nearly 100 residents participate in its creation.
  • I have prioritized our participation in regional Community Development Block Grants, a federally-funded program managed by the state that basically helps lower-income homeowners with the cost of home repairs, sometimes $40,000 in funding per home or more.

My priorities at the State House

Better funding for maintenance. New housing production isn't the only challenge we face. We have a crisis in maintenance funding, specifically in the tax-credit financed developments that are the cornerstone of our local housing nonprofits' inventory. We must secure more funding for these units' ongoing maintenance, not just the headline-grabbing new developments you read about in the paper.

Better funding for new housing production. This encompasses both low-income housing and workforce/missing middle housing.

Legislation enabling ADUs. I support ADUs. Adding a rental unit to a house is the only way some folks will be able to afford a mortgage. ADUs also provide housing stock in the form of small units, perfect for both the young and the old.

More senior housing at every income level. We live in aging communities. Folks who need to downsize should be able to stay in their hometown. That's why I've championed an expansion of Heaton Court in Stockbridge, including the addition of market-rate rentals. Everyone, not just the needy, should be able to live in their lifelong hometown.

Transfer fee? Maybe or maybe not. The transfer fee on sales was originally designed for 7-figure sales, effectively a tax on luxury home sales. I support a transfer fee as it was originally envisioned. However, there is move afoot in Boston to change the concept and allow towns to apply the proposed fee to all sales. I would have a harder time supporting such a change, because I do not believe we should fund subsidized housing using a tax on regular folks' home sales.

So how do we fund housing? See my page on reducing taxes for a slew of proposals that would not only reduce the property tax burden but at the same time provide millions in new funding for housing.

Housing is one of the most complex challenges we face. My record of accomplishment speaks for itself. My vision for how we fund it can speak for us all.

This is an overview, not a plan. Want a copy of the draft Stockbridge Housing Production Plan? It's about 100 pages. Just email me at patrick@patrickwhiteberkshires.com and I'd be happy to email you a copy.

PS: Running costs money. I need your help. If you believe, like I do, that we have hope, that we can control our own destiny, that we can move the needle on the seemingly intractable issues we face, please consider donating to my campaign.



Heaton Court senior housing in Stockbridge.



Volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity renovation on Grove St. in Great Barrington. Yeah, I know I should have tucked my shirt in.