HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5104        FILED ON: 5/13/2022

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4850

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

James J. O'Day

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to certain affordable housing in the city of Worcester.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5104        FILED ON: 5/13/2022

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4850

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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

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An Act relative to certain affordable housing in the city of Worcester.

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. Construction and development activity related to redevelopment by the Worcester Housing Authority of the state funded public housing project known as Curtis Apartments, at 32 Great Brook Valley Avenue, Worcester, Massachusetts or any part thereof, shall not be subject to any general or special law related to the procurement and award of contracts for the planning, design, construction management, construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance, or repair of buildings by a public agency but shall be subject to section 26 to 27H, inclusive, of chapter 149 of the General Laws. Contracts for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling, or repair of any publicly owned public works that service this project and would otherwise be subject to section 39M of chapter 30 of the General Laws shall be subject to said section 39M if the redevelopment of the project is funded in part by a state or federal low-income housing tax credit, grant, or loan, or pursuant to the issuance of tax-exempt bonds authorized by general law. The redevelopment of the project may be conducted through one or more phases through one or more entities. All phases taken together shall preserve or construct public housing units equal in number to the public housing units located at Curtis Apartments as of the effective date of this act. Each individual phase shall include such portion of the total public housing units as required by the Worcester Housing Authority and the department of housing and community development. A conveyance of the project or any phase thereof, whether by leasehold or fee estate, shall be subject to chapter 30B of the General Laws of the extent that the project or phase is conveyed to an entity that is not owned, controlled or managed by the Worcester Housing Authority on the date of conveyance. Subject to compliance with the requirements of chapter 30B, the project or any phase thereof may be conveyed to and may be owned, maintained and operated by an entity that is not owned, controlled or managed by the Worcester Housing Authority provided that such entity enters into a binding legal contract and land use restriction with the Worcester Housing Authority and with the department of community development that requires such entity to preserve or construct the required portion of public housing units for that phase and operate such units subject to compliance with chapter 121B of the General Laws and 760 CMR §§ 4.00 et seq., 5.00 et seq. and 6.00 et seq in the  same manner and to the same effect as if such entity were a housing authority, subject to such regulatory waivers given by the department of housing and community development necessary to secure funding.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.