Clarendon Hill Apartments Somerville Public Affordable Housing
Leadership

Leadership on Affordability

Somerville Affordable Housing
Clarendon Hill Apartments Somerville Public Affordable Housing

Clarendon Hill Apartments Project will add nearly 300 new, sustainable, affordable housing units

Katjana's Leadership on Affordability

Affordability is a two-sided coin: one side is how to address the rising cost of living; the other side is how to nurture equitable opportunities for better jobs and incomes. For Somerville to thrive, we need to work together both for affordable living costs and for good jobs. Katjana has a proven record of working successfully toward both goals, as a nonprofit administrator, volunteer, and city councilor.

  • As Project Director for Workforce Development for the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, she led an organization that provided training, jobs linkage, career ladders for disadvantaged residents.

  • As a volunteer, board member, and Board President of Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) for ten years, Katjana worked successfully for over a decade to develop affordable housing and to connect Somerville residents with jobs training and jobs linkage programs.

As a city councilor, Katjana has sponsored and supported groundbreaking programs to improve housing affordability and job opportunities:

  • Supported Somerville’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance that requires 20% of new housing units to be affordable / inclusionary housing, and with density bonuses for additional affordable housing development

  • Supported District Increment Financing (DIF) to finance affordable housing creation

  • Supported the 100 Homes Program to buy open market homes and convert them to affordable units

  • Supported the Ordinance for Condo Conversion, giving tenants a right of first refusal to purchase the homes they currently rent; Katjana proposed an amendment to allow first priority to convert for family members

  • Supported the creation of The Office of Housing Stability to provide housing resources for residents who need assistance

  • Sponsored a Home Rule Petition to allow us to require Institutional Master Planning for large institutions in our revised Zoning Code

  • Supported and advocated for the Jobs Creation and Retention Trust Fund, which requires developers to pay for enhanced job opportunities and training for Somerville residents

  • Supported the creation of the Talent Equity Playbook, planning to bring thousands of new jobs to Somerville by 2030

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