Amendment #994 to H3400

495/MetroWest Suburban Edge Communities Commission

Representatives Hogan of Stow, Dykema of Holliston, Benson of Lunenburg, Linsky of Natick, Dooley of Norfolk, Barrows of Mansfield, Muradian of Grafton, Kane of Shrewsbury, Gentile of Sudbury, Garlick of Needham, Sannicandro of Ashland, Fernandes of Milford and Roy of Franklin move to amend the bill in section 2, in item 7002-0010, in line 7, by inserting after “agreements,” the following:

and provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership, Inc. to coordinate the 495/MetroWest Suburban Edge Communities Commission established in section YY

and by adding the following section:

SECTION YY.   (a) There shall be a special commission to be known as the 495/MetroWest Suburban Edge Communities Commission and to consist of 26 members: 3 members of the senate, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the President, 1 of whom shall serve jointly as a co-chair, and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; 3 members from the house of representatives, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker, 1 of whom shall serve jointly as a co-chair, and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; the secretary of housing and economic development or a designee, who shall serve jointly as a co-chair; the secretary of transportation or a designee; the secretary of energy and environmental affairs or a designee; the executive director of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency 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) The commission shall make 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. The commission shall hold at least 3 public forums in the region to solicit stakeholders’ feedback before developing policy responses and recommendations to ensure that edge communities can participate in state development initiatives and benefit from state resources. The commission shall focus its investigation and study on the 35 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 not more than 35,000, with a 5 per cent variance to account for postcensal population estimates,

(c) The commission shall report to the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives and the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies the results of its investigation and study and its recommendations, if any, by filing the same with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives by December 31, 2016.

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

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #994 to H3400

495/MetroWest Suburban Edge Communities Commission