The rise of the YIMBY: Americans struggling to find cheap housing form pro-development groups to infiltrate public meetings and vote yes to new high-rises

Young Americans in Massachusetts who are struggling to find affordable housing are joining pro-development groups and infiltrating public meetings to vote for new high rises. 

Cobi Frongillo, who is a town councilor in Franklin, regularly witnesses community resistance to proposed housing developments due to the size of the building and concerns over parking spots.  

But the 25-year-old can only afford to live in the city by renting his parents' backyard cottage and insists few people his age have been able to stay in the area where they grew up.

He has joined up with a group of other residents and formed a rare pro-housing group called Building Equitable Neighborhoods and they have roughly 35 members. 

'I can’t afford to buy into the community that I love, and, fundamentally, that is a huge problem for the future of this town,' Frongillo told the Boston Globe.

Young Americans in Massachusetts, including Cobi Frongillo, 25, are joining pro-development groups and infiltrating public meetings to vote for new high rises

Frongillo and the advocacy group attend public meetings where they vote in favor of new housing developments.

'Young people can’t live here anymore because we just do not have the housing,' he said.

There are now dozens of new local pro-housing groups across Eastern Massachusetts and they make their presence felt in communities including Norwood and Rockport.

It has been sparked by the MBTA Communities law, which requires cities and towns served by public transport to make it easier to build family housing.

Pro-housing groups are asking local officials to be bolder with new zoning rules and will advocate for other policies when those are passed. 

The groups are usually formed after younger residents are left shocked by the pushback on new housing in community meetings from older, wealthier homeowners. 

Boston University researcher Katherine Einstein said the advocacy organizations can end up having a lot of influence.

Frongillo, who is a town councilor in Franklin, regularly witnesses community resistance to proposed housing developments due to the size of the building and parking concerns

She said: 'This is the most organized the pro-housing movement in Massachusetts has ever been. They are making big strides on the local level.'

The movement has spread across the US and led to zoning changes in states including Montana and Oregon.

Frongillo said the group's membership is open to all demographics although it is led by younger residents. 

They want affordable housing built in the community as production has stagnated and new development plans are regularly criticized.

The median price for a single-family home in Franklin is $660,000 and the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is close to $2,100.

A similar group was launched in Cambridge in 2012 when a group of locals in their 20s formed A Better Cambridge.

They first met in bars and apartments to work on their plan and successfully fought against a downzoning proposal.

But the 25-year-old can only afford to live in the city by renting his parents' backyard cottage and insists few people his age have been able to stay in the area where they grew up

Jesse Kanson-Benanav, the group's first executive director, left to form state-wide housing advocacy group Abundant Housing Massachusetts.

'State policy reform is crucial, but it’s really important that we do things in the Massachusetts context,' he said.

'We’ve done housing locally for a long time here, and as long as that’s the case, we have to meet the system where it’s at.'

Waltham Inclusive Neighborhoods was set up after residents in the area grew frustrated at a lack of speed with the MBTA Communities housing plan.

The city has welcomed 10,000 new jobs in the last decade but built just 1,600 housing units.

'That is the engine of the housing crisis,' one of the group leaders, Tom Benavides, 25, said. 

'The fact that we are willing to build commercial development for workers and aren’t willing to house them — we’re blinding our own eyes.' 

Frongillo and the advocacy group attend public meetings where they vote in favor of new housing developments

Waltham Inclusive Neighborhoods is looking to get local officials to propose zoning changes which work with MBTA Communities and lead to space for nearly 4,000 homes.

While in Norwood,  pro-housing group Norwood for All held an education campaign to fight against misinformation before a spring Town Meeting.

It approved the town's plan to rezone land to make room for 2,000 units.