Bill H.2135

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 373 FILED ON: 1/20/2021

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2135

By Ms. Barber of Somerville, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2135) of Christine P. Barber for legislation to improve the local infrastructure development programs. Municipalities and Regional Government.

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1759 OF 2019-2020.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

An Act to improve the local infrastructure development program.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 2 of chapter 23L is hereby amended by striking out subsection b, and inserting in place thereof the following section:--

(b) The establishment of a development zone shall be initiated by the filing of a petition signed by owners of 51 per cent of either the land area or assessed value of real estate within the proposed development zone in the office of the clerk of the municipality and the office of the agency. The petition shall contain at least:

(1) a legal description of the boundaries of the proposed development zone;

(2) the written consent to the establishment of the development zone and to the adoption of the improvement plan or an amended improvement plan, by the persons with the record ownership of 51 per cent of either the land area or assessed value of real estate to be included in the development zone; provided, however, that any real estate owned by the commonwealth or an agency or political subdivision thereof, included in the boundaries of the development zone, shall not be included in the count of persons owning tax parcels or acreage in the proposed development zone for the purposes of this clause;

(3) the name of the proposed development zone;

(4) a map of the proposed development zone, showing its boundaries and any current public improvements which may be added to or modified by any improvements;

(5) the estimated timetable for construction of the improvements;

(6) estimates of any other private or public funding sources;

(7) the improvement plan for the proposed development zone; and

(8) the procedure by which the municipality shall be reimbursed for any costs incurred by it in establishing the development zone and for any administrative costs to be incurred in the administration and collection of infrastructure assessments imposed within the proposed development zone

SECTION 2. Section 3 of said chapter 23L is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following section:--

(a) Upon receipt of a petition under section 2, the municipal governing body shall, within 120 days of such receipt, hold a public hearing on the petition. Written notification of the hearing and a summary of the petition and the improvement plan shall be provided by the clerk of the municipality to all owners and tenants of properties in the proposed development zone and to the regional planning agency, not later than 14 days before the hearing, by mailing a notice to the address listed in the municipality's property tax records or other appropriate listings of owners and residents. Notification of the hearing shall be published once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality and in a newspaper of general circulation in all municipalities within one-half mile of the borders of the proposed development zone, the first publication shall be at least 14 days before the hearing. The public notice shall state:

(1)the proposed boundaries of the development zone;

(2)the improvements proposed to be provided in the development zone;

(3)the proposed basis for determining any infrastructure assessments with respect to those improvements, including the rate, method of apportionment, and manner of collection of the assessment in sufficient detail to allow each owner of real estate or resident within the proposed development district to estimate the maximum amount that her or she will have to pay; and

(4)any locations for viewing and copying the petition, including the improvement plan.

SECTION 3. Section 3 of said chapter 23L is further amended by inserting after subsection (c) the following subsection:--

(c ½) The resolution creating the development zone shall also include (i) that the development zone shall expire 35 years from the passing of the resolution, and (ii) that the development zone shall expire when the development zone is abolished in accordance with section 12.

SECTION 4. Section 4 of said chapter 23L is further amended by inserting at the end of subsection (b) of Section 4:--

(6) an exemption from charges for residential dwelling units at or below 100 per cent Area median Income (AMI)

SECTION 5. Said chapter 23L is further amended by inserting after section 10 the following new sections:--

Section 11. Amendments to the development zone

Section 11. (a) The development zone shall be enlarged by resolution of the local governing body upon the petitions of the owners of at least 51 percent of either the land area or assessed value of land of the district within each locality and of at least 51 percent of either the land area or assessed value of land located within the territory sought to be added to the development zone. Any such territory shall be contiguous to the existing district. The petition shall present the information required by Section 2. Upon receipt of such a petition, the locality shall use the standards and procedures provided in Section 3, except that the residents and owners of both the existing development zone and the area proposed for the enlargement shall have the right to appear and show cause why any property should not be included in the proposed development zone.

(b) If the local governing body finds the enlargement of a development zone would be in the best interests of the residents and owners of the property within the proposed district, and if the local governing body finds that enlargement of the district does not limit or adversely affect the rights and interests of any party that has contracted with the development zone, the local governing body may pass a resolution providing for the enlargement of the development zone.

Section 12. Abolition of the development zone

Section 12. (a) Any development zone created pursuant to this chapter may be abolished by resolution adopted by the governing body of any participating municipality, upon the petition of owners of at least 51 percent of the land area located within the development zone. The petition shall at least:

(1)State whether the purposes for which the development zone was formed have been substantially achieved;

(2)State whether all obligations incurred by the development zone have been fully paid;

(3)Describe the benefits that can be expected from the abolition of the district; and

(4)Request the governing body to abolish the district.

(b) Upon the receipt of such a petition, the governing body of any participating municipality, in consideration of abolition of the development zone, shall use the standards and procedures described in section 2, except that all interested persons who either reside on or who own real estate within the boundaries of the development zone shall have the right to appear and show cause why the district should not be abolished.

(c) If the governing body of any participating municipality finds that (i) the abolition of the development zone is in the best interests of the residents and owners of real estate within the development zone and (ii) all debts of the development zone have been paid and the purposes of the development zone either have been, or should not be, fulfilled, then the governing body of any participating municipality may adopt a resolution abolishing the development zone.

Name:	District/Address:	Date Added:
Christine P. Barber	34th Middlesex	1/20/2021