Amendment #534 to H4000

495/MetroWest Suburban Edge Community Commission

Representatives Hogan of Stow, Gregoire of Marlborough, Dooley of Norfolk, Khan of Newton, Linsky of Natick, Barrows of Mansfield, Dykema of Holliston, Benson of Lunenburg, Sannicandro of Ashland, Fernandes of Milford, Walsh of Framingham, Peterson of Grafton, Conroy of Wayland, Beaton of Shrewsbury and Atkins of Concord move to amend the bill in section 2 by inserting after item 7007-0952 the following item:

"xxxx-xxxx For the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership, Inc. to coordinate the 495/MetroWest Suburban Edge Community Commission established in section YY.…………………….$100,000.”;

and by adding the following section:

“SECTION XX. (a) There shall be a special commission to be known as the 495/MetroWest Suburban Edge Community Commission and to consist of: 3 members of the Senate, 1 of whom shall be from the minority party; 3 members from the House of Representatives, 1 of whom shall be from the minority party; the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development or a designee; the Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation or a designee; the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs or a designee; the Executive Director of Massachusetts Development Finance Agency or a designee; the Chairman of the John Adams Innovation Institute or a designee; 1 member selected by the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership, Inc.; 1 member selected by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council; 1 member selected by the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc.; 1 member selected by the Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors; 1 member selected by NAIOP Massachusetts, Inc.; 1 member selected by Massachusetts Water Works Association Inc.; 1 member selected by the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority; and 9 persons to be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be an academic focused on suburban development, 1 of whom shall be a real estate professional with experience working in edge communities, 1 of whom shall be a water resources expert with experience working in edge communities, 1 of whom shall be a transportation engineer with experience working in edge communities, and 5 of whom shall be municipal officials who represent different municipalities served by the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership, Inc

(b) Said commission shall be established pursuant to section 2A of chapter 4 of the General Laws for the purpose of making an investigation and study relative to development challenges being experienced by edge communities, such as needs to address transportation, water, cellular, and energy infrastructure, transit services, residential development,  reuse of former industrial facilities and historic mills, brownfields reclamation, downtown redevelopment, and other such constraints,  and develop policy responses and recommendations to ensure that edge communities can participate in state development initiatives and benefit from state resources. To examine these issues at the needed level of detail, the commission shall focus its investigation and study on the 34 municipalities served by the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership, Inc. and develop a pilot program to address the issues to be studied and investigated by the commission.  The commission shall choose certain municipalities served by the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership, Inc. to partake in the pilot program; provided, however, that the 5 municipalities represented by a municipal official chosen by the governor for appointment on the commission shall partake in the pilot program. For purposes of this section, “edge community” shall mean a municipality with a population of no more than 35,000 that is not adjacent to a gateway municipality as that term is defined in section 3A of chapter 23A of the General Laws.

(c) Said commission shall report to the Clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate and the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technology the results of its investigation and study and its recommendations, if any, by filing the same with the Clerks of the House of Representatives and Senate on or before December 31, 2015.

(d) All appointments to the commission shall be made within 90 days of the effective date of this act”.