Amendment #332 to H4879

Housing Reform

Representatives Vargas of Haverhill and Barber of Somerville move to amend the bill in section 16, by inserting, after line 968:

"“Gross density”, a units-per-acre density measurement that includes in the calculation land occupied by public rights-of-way, recreational, civic, commercial and other non-residential uses."

and in said section 16, by inserting, after line 970:

"“MBTA community,” A city or town that is enumerated in one of the following: (i) “51 cities and towns”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 161A of the General Laws; (ii) “Fourteen cities and towns”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 161A of the General Laws; or (iii) “Other served communities”, as defined in section 1 of chapter 161A of the General Laws; and such other municipalities as may be added in accordance with section 6 of chapter 161A of the General laws or in accordance with any special act to the area constituting the authority."

And move to further amend the bill in section 106, in line 2314, by striking out the words

", including progress made towards the production of 135,000 new units by 2025"

and inserting in said section 106, in line 2318, after the word "housing", the words

"The report shall also include progress made towards the goal of producing 427,000 new units of housing in Massachusetts by 2040. The housing production goal shall also include a goal of having 85,400 units of housing be created by 2040 that are affordable to households earning less than 80% of the Area Median Income, with at least 8,500 of these units affordable to households earning less than 30 percent of the Area Median Income. The report shall include a breakdown of market-rate units created; units created that are accessible or adaptable for persons with disabilities; units created for persons over the age of 55; and units created by deed restricted affordable housing available to households earning less than 80% Area Median Income, less than 60% Area Median Income, and less than 30% Area Median Income."

And move to further amend the bill by inserting after section 106 the following two sections:

"SECTION XXX. Said Chapter 40A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after section 3 the following new section: -

Section 3A.

(a) Zoning ordinances and by-laws of a city or town that is an MBTA community, as defined in this chapter, shall provide at least one district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is a permitted use as of right. For the purposes of this paragraph, a “district of reasonable size” shall include: (i) multi-family housing without age restrictions which is suitable for families with children; (ii) have a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre, subject to any further limitations imposed by section 40 of chapter 131 and title 5 of the state environmental code, established by section 13 of chapter 21A; and (iii) be in a location as described in subsection (b) of this section.

If a city or town that is an MBTA community fails to comply with this section, that city or town shall be ineligible for funds from the so-called Housing Choice Initiative as described by the governor in a message to the general court dated December 11, 2017, (ii) the Local Capital Projects Fund under Section 2EEEE of Chapter 29 of the General Laws; and (iii) the Massworks Infrastructure Program under section 63 of Chapter 23A.

(b) Districts shall be in the following locations:

(i) located within .5 miles of a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal, or bus station.

(ii) located within .25 miles of a stop along a local bus route, key bus route, commuter bus route, as defined in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Service Delivery Policy as approved by the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board on January 23, 2017, and as it may be updated and approved from time to time.

(c) The department, in consultation with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, shall promulgate guidelines which shall be used to determine if a city or town has satisfied the requirements established in this section.

SECTION XXXX. Section 17 of chapter 40A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the second paragraph the following two paragraphs:-

Any appeal of a grant of zoning relief or denial of zoning enforcement by a person other than an applicant challenging conditions imposed on a permit shall be dismissed unless within forty-five days following the filing of appeal pursuant to this section the plaintiff files an affidavit setting forth with particularity the specific harm to the plaintiff’s property interest alleged as a result of the decision appealed from and identifying persons with knowledge of said harm and documents that support the allegations made in the complaint or described in the affidavit.

In the event that a plaintiff identifies harm from traffic, drainage, or other impacts of a similar nature, the filing referenced in the preceding section must include the affidavit of an engineer or other expert qualified by training, certification and education to testify to the impact of the alleged harm on the plaintiff’s property interest."

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #332 to H4879

Housing Reform