AN ACT AUTHORIZING MARTHA'S VINEYARD AFFORDABLE HOUSING COVENANTS.
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. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the towns of Aquinnah, Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury and West Tisbury may adopt by-laws designating the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority as their agent to create, administer and enforce the Martha's Vineyard housing needs covenants. These covenants shall run with the land for a specified number of years or if no termination date is specified, then in perpetuity, and shall be executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land appropriate to: (a) limiting the use of all or part of the land to occupancy by persons or families of middle income in either rental or other housing, (b) restricting the resale price of all or part of the property in order to ensure its affordability by future middle income purchasers, or (c) in any way limiting or restricting the use or enjoyment of all or any portion of the land for the purpose of encouraging or ensuring the creation or retention of the rental and other housing for occupancy by middle income persons and families. For the purpose of this act, "middle income persons and households" shall mean persons or households earning less than 150 per cent of Dukes county median household income as reported from time to time by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
SECTION 2. Section 3 of chapter 102 of the acts of 1986 is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
The provisions of section 32 of chapter 121B of the General Laws that require that rents of dwelling units in certain projects be a percentage of tenant income shall not apply to any low rent housing project that has not been developed or acquired by the authority with state assistance under section 32, 34 or 41 of said chapter 121B, but all units in any such low rent housing project shall be leased to families of low income, elderly persons of low income or handicapped persons of low income.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.