AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE SOMERVILLE HOUSING AUTHORITY TO RECONSTRUCT THE STATE-FUNDED CLARENDON HILL PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT.
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. Construction and development activity related to redevelopment by the Somerville Housing Authority of the state-funded Clarendon Hill public housing project at 34 North street in the city of Somerville or any part thereof shall not be subject to any general or special law related to the procurement and award of contracts for the planning, design, construction management, construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of buildings by a public agency; provided, however, that sections 26 to 27H, inclusive, of chapter 149 of the General Laws shall apply to all construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance and repair. Contracts for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling or repair of any publicly-owned public works that service this project and that would otherwise be subject to section 39M of chapter 30 of the General Laws shall be subject to said section 39M of said chapter 30 if the redevelopment of the project is funded, in part, by a state or federal low-income housing tax credit, grant or loan or pursuant to the issuance of tax-exempt bonds authorized by law. The redevelopment of the project may be conducted through 1 or more phases through 1 or more entities. All phases taken together shall preserve or construct public housing units equal in number to the public housing units located at Clarendon Hill apartments on the effective date of this act. Each individual phase shall include such portion of the total public housing units as required by the Somerville housing authority and the department of housing and community development. Any conveyance of the project or any phase thereof by the Somerville housing authority shall be subject to chapter 30B of the General Laws to the extent that the project or any phase thereof is conveyed to an entity that is not owned, controlled or managed by the Somerville housing authority on the date of the conveyance. Subject to compliance with the requirements of said chapter 30B, the project or any phase thereof may be conveyed to and may be owned, maintained and operated by an entity that is not owned, controlled or managed by the Somerville housing authority; provided, however, that the entity shall enter into a contract and land use restriction with the Somerville housing authority and the department of housing and community development that requires the entity to preserve or construct the required portion of public housing units for that phase and operate such units subject to compliance with chapter 121B of the General Laws and 760 CMR §§ 4.00 et seq., 5.00 et seq. and 6.00 et seq. in the same manner and to the same extent as if the entity were a housing authority, subject to such regulatory waivers given by the department of housing and community development as may be necessary to secure financing.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved, August 9, 2018.