UPDATED, May 8: Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine brought to a wider audience the challenges that Arlington has faced in producing affordable housing.

The manager spoke at the Kennedy Institute in Boston on Tuesday, May 7, as a panelist in a program titled "Path to Affordable Housing in Massachusetts."

See a video of the disciussion >>

"I plan to speak about the challenges that we’ve seen in Arlington in regard to the production of affordable housing as well housing affordability as it’s more broadly defined," he told YourArlington.

"I’ll certainly talk about the zoning proposals that Town Meeting is taking up this week, and by the time of this panel, I’ll likely know how the proposals have fared and that will certainly impact what I am able to share one way or another."

He added that "it seems to be a widely shared goal in Arlington that housing should be affordable for people with varying levels of income. It’s the means of achieving that goal that seems to spark disagreement and debate (the hallmarks of democracy)."

He said he expects to share the successes that Arlington has had in recent times working with the nonprofit Housing Corporation of Arlington and providing funding for affordable-housing development with both funding via Community Development Block Grants and the Community Preservation Act.

An email from the institute says state and local leaders plan to discuss the housing challenges facing communities across Massachusetts, and how government leaders and other stakeholders are working to create a path to affordable housing in the Commonwealth.

Moderating the panel is Adrian Walker, columnist for The Boston Globe. Participants are Chapdelaine; Rachel Heller, CEO, Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association; Mike Kennealy, state secretary of Housing and Economic Development; and Chrystal Kornegay, executive director, MassHousing.

This news announcement was published Monday, April 22, 2019, and was updated May 8, to add a link.