SECTION 1. Section 21 of chapter 40B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 1 before the word “any”, the words: -- “Any community that, by majority vote of the city council or town meeting, shall be exempted from the provisions of section 22 and section 23 of chapter 40B, provided that said community elects to establish a housing linkage program. Said linkage program shall require that developers of commercial, retail, hotel, or institutional structures greater than 25,000 square feet seeking zoning relief pay a fee to construct affordable housing at a site other than the proposed development. Residential developers constructing greater than twenty units of housing shall be required to pay this fee or provide a minimum of ten percent of the units for affordable housing to be located on or off the development site.

SECTION 2. The linkage fee shall be determined by a majority vote of the city council or town meeting and shall be not less than one dollar nor greater than seven dollars per square foot. The first 25,000 square feet of construction of commercial, retail, hotel, or institutional structures shall be exempt from said fee. Developers shall have the option of paying such fee in one lump sum at the issuance of a building permit or entering into a schedule of payments not to exceed twelve years.

SECTION 3. The local housing linkage fund shall be administered by a seven member board appointed by the mayor of a city or the town manager of a town, and shall consist of at least one representative from the local housing authority to be appointed by the executive director of said authority.

SECTION 4. The income eligibility standard for such units made available through this act shall be limited to those families that meet state guidelines for Section 8 housing and individuals eligible for Supplemental Security Income.