AN ACT FACILITATING URBAN REDEVELOPMENT IN THE CITY OF QUINCY.
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. For the purposes of this act, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
“City parcels”, the 2 parcels of land currently owned by the city of Quincy in the urban renewal district which are known as the Ross Garage and the Hancock Parking Lot and more particularly defined in the land disposition agreement, that the city will transfer to the designated redeveloper who will redevelop the city parcels and other privately owned land.
“Land disposition agreement”, the agreement dated January 25, 2011, between the city of Quincy and Hancock Adams Associates, LLC, the redeveloper, including any amendments thereto, pursuant to which the city of Quincy shall transfer the city parcels to the redeveloper; provided, however, that the land disposition agreement shall be subject to the approval of the department of housing and community development under chapter 121B of the General Laws.
“Urban renewal district”, the area of downtown Quincy encompassed by that certain urban renewal plan known as the Quincy Center District Urban Revitalization and Development Plan, dated May 7, 2007, as amended.
“Urban renewal plan”, the Quincy Center District Urban Revitalization and Development Plan, dated May 7, 2007, as amended.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a project authorized and approved by the city of Quincy under the land disposition agreement, as approved by the department of housing and community development under chapter 121B of the General Laws shall be deemed approved for the purposes of sections 3, 5, 6 and 6A of chapter 121A of the General Laws.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the land disposition agreement, as approved by the department of housing and community development under chapter 121B of the General Laws, for a project authorized thereunder shall serve as the regulatory agreement required under clauses (c), (e) and (f) of the first paragraph of section 18C of chapter 121A of the General Laws.
SECTION 4. Chapter 898 of the acts of 1973 is hereby amended by inserting after section 12 the following 4 sections:-
Section 12A. (a) Subject to paragraphs (h) and (i) of the first paragraph of section 18 of chapter 121A of the General Laws, the department shall, in addition to its other powers and duties, have the powers and perform the duties from time to time conferred or imposed upon the housing board under sections 6A, 7 to 13, inclusive, 15 to 18, inclusive, 18B and 18C of said chapter 121A with respect to a project thereunder in the urban renewal district of the city of Quincy developed pursuant to the land disposition agreement and, for such purpose, the words “housing board” or “board” as used in said sections 6A to 13, inclusive, 15 to 18, inclusive, 18B and 18C of said chapter 121A shall mean the department in the case of all such projects; provided, however, that no decision of the department approving a project or any change therein or making or amending any rule, regulation or standard therefor shall be in force until approved by the mayor. The department shall make, and from time to time may amend, reasonable rules and regulations for securing its approval of projects in the urban renewal district under said chapter 121A, and no rule, regulation or standard of the department of housing and community development shall apply to any such project. The department shall have the powers and perform the duties conferred on it by this subsection notwithstanding that it may have made a contract directly or indirectly affecting the project.
(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, any authority to approve on eminent domain taking under section 11 of chapter 121A of the General Laws shall be exercised by the mayor and the city council, not the department.
(c) A condominium may be created in the urban renewal district for any purpose authorized in chapter 183A of the General Laws and section 18D of chapter 121A of the General Laws shall not apply thereto. Section 9 of said chapter 121A shall not apply to the sale or resale of a condominium unit within a secondary condominium.
Section 12B. (a) Persons intending to associate themselves by written agreement of association with intent to form a corporation under chapter 121A of the General Laws for the purpose of undertaking and carrying out under said chapter 121A a project in the urban renewal district, or an insurance company, savings bank or group of savings banks intending to carry out under said chapter 121A a project in the urban renewal district shall submit to the department and to the mayor an application for its approval of such project and for its consent to the formation of such corporation. Such application shall specify the location of the proposed project, the reasons why the project is necessary or desirable and the uses to which the project shall be put and shall contain, in general terms, a description of the buildings, structures or facilities which it proposes to furnish, accompanied by a site plan and drawings of the proposed buildings and other improvements adequate to show the nature and extent of the project.
(b) Whenever the department is requested to approve the formation of any such corporation or the carrying out of a project by an insurance company, savings bank or group of savings banks, it shall, after a public hearing of which reasonable notice shall be given, make such determinations as may be required by chapter 121A of the General Laws and shall determine whether conditions exist which warrant the carrying out of the proposed project, whether such project is consistent with the terms and requirements of the land disposition agreement dated January 25, 2011, between the city of Quincy and Hancock Adams Associates, LLC, the redeveloper, including any amendments thereto as approved by the department of housing and community development, whether such project is consistent with the urban renewal plan, whether such project would be in any way detrimental to the best interests of the public or the city or to the public safety and convenience, and whether the project will constitute a public use and benefit. If the department finds that the proposed project does not meet the requirements of said chapter 121A or that conditions warranting the carrying out of the project do not exist or that the project will not be practicable or in conflict with the land disposition agreement or the urban renewal plan or is detrimental or inconsistent as aforesaid or will not constitute a public use and benefit, it shall disapprove the project.
(c) The department shall prepare, adopt and make open to public inspection a report approving or disapproving a project proposed under subsection (b) and its reasons for such approval or disapproval. If the department disapproves the project, it may suggest changes in the project or in the plans therefor. If the persons intending to associate as aforesaid or an insurance company, savings bank or group of savings banks intending to carry out a project in the urban renewal district determine to proceed in accordance with the changes suggested, such persons, insurance company, savings bank or group of savings banks shall amend their application accordingly. If the proposed change is not a major one under the land disposition agreement, the mayor and the department may approve or disapprove the application as amended without further hearing or report. If the proposed change is a major one, the department shall proceed as if it were a new application.
(d) Whenever the department approves a project, it shall make and embody in its report reasonable rules and regulations setting minimum standards for the financing, construction, maintenance and management of the project insofar as the same are not specified in the application for the approval thereof and shall submit the report to the mayor. Approval of the project shall not be final until the department receives the mayor’s approval.
(e) As soon as may be practical after the mayor approves the project, the department shall issue a certificate of approval of the project and of its consent, if any, to the formation of a corporation to carry it out. An agreement of association to form a corporation for the purposes of carrying out in the urban renewal district a project under chapter 121A of the General Laws shall not be presented to the state secretary for filing, nor shall the state secretary file it, unless it is accompanied by such a certificate.
(f) After the approval of a project by the department and the mayor, the corporation, insurance company, savings bank or group of savings banks carrying out the project may apply to the department for leave to change the type and character of the buildings in the project. The department shall transmit to the mayor a copy of such application. The department, if it receives a certificate evidencing the approval of the application by the mayor, shall approve such application and the corporation may act in accordance with such approval. If any such change amounts to a major change under the land disposition agreement, the change shall require the approval of the mayor and the city council.
(g) When a decision under this section or section 12A becomes final, the department shall file with the city clerk a copy of the decision, attested to by the department with, in the case where approval of the decision by the mayor or city council is required, a copy of such approval, likewise attested. Within 30 days after such filing, any person, whether previously a party to the proceeding or not, who is aggrieved by a decision or any municipal officer or board may file a petition in the supreme judicial court or in the superior court sitting in Norfolk county for a writ of certiorari against the department to correct errors of law therein and section 4 of chapter 249 of the General Laws shall apply to such petition except as herein provided with respect to the time for filing such petition. The remedy provided in this subsection shall be exclusive.
Section 12C. (a) In the urban renewal district, the city of Quincy shall have a lien under chapter 60 of the General Laws for all amounts payable under a contract or agreement executed under section 6A of chapter 121A of the General Laws and such lien shall continue in effect for 3 years after the date on which the last installment was due and payable under the contract or agreement.
(b) Payments made by the redeveloper to the city of Quincy Affordable Housing Trust under the land disposition agreement described in subsection (b) of section 12B shall satisfy any displaced dwelling requirements of section 6 of chapter 121A of the General Laws. Said payments shall be deemed to provide a feasible method of relocation and shall be deemed to establish the existence or availability of dwellings required by said section 6 of said chapter 121A of the General Laws.
Section 12D. Sections 12A to 12C, inclusive, shall apply in lieu of sections 6, 6B and 6C of chapter 121A of the General Laws with respect to projects in the urban renewal district approved under the land disposition agreement described in subsection (b) of section 12B.
SECTION 5. Notwithstanding chapter 40Q of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the first installment of principal on any bonds or notes issued to pay costs of a project within the urban renewal district shall be made not later than 10 years following the original date of issue of such bonds or notes. Notwithstanding section 17 of chapter 44 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the city of Quincy may issue temporary loans, including temporary loans to refund prior temporary loans, in anticipation of the issuance of bonds to pay costs of a project within the urban renewal district for periods of not more than 10 years from the date of issue of an original temporary loan. No part of a temporary loan shall be paid from revenue funds during such 10-year period. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, bonds issued by the city of Quincy to pay costs of a project within the urban renewal district shall be payable over a term not in excess of 30 years, without regard to the term of any temporary loans issued by the city of Quincy in anticipation of any such bonds.
SECTION 6. Notwithstanding sections 6A and 10 of chapter 121A of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, for projects located within the urban renewal district in the city of Quincy, urban renewal corporations organized under chapter 121A of the General Laws shall pay quarterly to the city the amount specified by the formulas set forth in the land disposition agreement. The formulas shall be considered specific and ascertainable amounts.
The city of Quincy shall provide to the department of housing and community development and the division of local services in the department of revenue a copy of the quarterly payments and methodologies employed in the calculation therefore, not more than 30 days after the receipt of such payments.
The 15-year period of exemption from taxation may be terminated by the city of Quincy at the end thereof or in any subsequent year following the expiration thereof, subject to the terms of the land disposition agreement. The terms of this section shall apply to all project components, regardless of funding source.
Personal property of urban renewal corporations organized under chapter 121A of the General Laws located within the urban renewal district in the city of Quincy shall not be exempt from taxation.
SECTION 7. Notwithstanding sections 22 to 22E, inclusive, of chapter 40 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the city of Quincy may apply receipts from the operation of parking facilities constructed in the urban renewal district for payments specified in the land disposition agreement. The city of Quincy may lease or sell air rights above city-owned land and discontinued roads and ways in the urban renewal district pursuant to the land disposition agreement.
SECTION 8. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for redevelopment activities in the urban renewal district, for the purposes of sections 81K to 81GG, inclusive, of chapter 41 of the General Laws and in lieu of the definition of “lot” in section 81L of said chapter 41, the following word shall have the following meaning and shall also apply to any ordinance or by-law enacted pursuant to said sections 81K to 81GG, inclusive, of said chapter 41:
“Lot”, an area of land, or space above land, in 1 ownership, with definite boundaries, used, or available for use, as the site of 1 or more buildings or portions thereof; provided, however, that the term “lot” shall expressly include the vertical space above the land so as to create air rights parcels.
SECTION 9. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for projects in the urban renewal district, the land disposition agreement shall be a contract and all of section 14 of chapter 121A of the General Laws shall apply to that contract. In addition to the specific items set forth in clauses (a) to (c), inclusive, of the first paragraph of said section 14 of said chapter 121A, the contract may obligate the city of Quincy to cause the construction of parking garages by the corporation or its redeveloper and to subsequently acquire them from the corporation or its redeveloper in accordance with the terms of the land disposition agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the construction of a project under the land disposition agreement shall not be subject to any provision of law relating to publication or advertising for bids, but shall be subject to the land disposition agreement and sections 26 to 27F, inclusive, of chapter 149 of the General Laws.
SECTION 10. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, compliance with the notice requirements pertaining to the execution by the city of Quincy of the land disposition agreement and the procedural requirements pertaining to such execution shall constitute compliance with the notice and procedural requirements of section 15A of chapter 40 of the General Laws or any other general or special law with regard to the transfer of land held by the city of Quincy from 1 municipal purpose to another municipal purpose for the city parcels and the land beneath the discontinued roads and ways as part of the urban renewal plan and located within the urban renewal district, pursuant to the land disposition agreement or otherwise. Upon execution by the city of the land disposition agreement, the city shall be deemed to hold all such land for urban renewal purposes. Notwithstanding such land being transferred and held for such purposes, until such time as the city of Quincy actually conveys such lands, the city of Quincy may continue to use the lands for the purposes for which they were being used immediately before the effective date of this act.
SECTION 11. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, whenever a successor in interest acquires through sale, assignment or transfer any project or portion of a project approved under the land disposition agreement, the successor in interest shall retain the powers, rights, privileges, benefits and exemptions set forth in chapter 121A of the General Laws, and shall be bound by all agreements executed with the city of Quincy pursuant to said chapter 121A. Where such successors in interest are unit purchasers in a condominium, the obligations under any contract executed pursuant to section 6A of said chapter 121A for such project shall be allocated to the individual unit owners in accordance with their percentage interest in the common areas of the condominium and shall be enforced and collected on that basis. Where a corporation executes separate contracts under said section 6A of said chapter 121A, as modified by this act, for individual portions of a project, such contract shall be enforceable against such portion as if a separate corporation in each case executed the contract. Subject to this act, the period of 15 years or such further time as may be provided herein shall be computed from the date of organization of the urban renewal corporation which initiated the project.
SECTION 12. Whenever a project is undertaken pursuant to this act, the city of Quincy may execute and deliver, pursuant to the land disposition agreement, a parking management agreement with the redeveloper for a term of not more than 30 years.
SECTION 13. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved, May 25 , 2011.