MBTA Communities Law

• Are any parcels not allowed to be zoned under Section 3A?

  Excluded land includes areas on which it is not possible or practical to construct multi-family housing. In Section 3A, excluded land is defined by reference to the ownership, use codes, use restrictions, and hydrological characteristics in MassGIS. The following are not allowed:

  • All publicly-owned land, except for lots or potions of lots determined to be developable public land
  • All rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and other surface waterbodies
  • All wetland resources areas together with a buffer zone around wetlands and waterbodies equivalent to the minimum setback required by title 5 of the state environmental code 
  • Protected open space and recreational land that is legally protected in perpetuity (e.g., land owned by a local land trust or subject to a conservation restrictions), or that is likely to remain undeveloped due to functional or traditional use (e.g., cemeteries)
  • All public and private rights-of-way
  • Privately-owned land used for educational or institutional uses (e.g., hospital, prison, electric, water, wastewater, other utility, private school, college, university)

  A parcel may have only a portion of it that qualifies as excluded land. In this case, the entire area of the parcel will count toward the acreage, but only the allowable portions will count toward the unit capacity. 

  In addition, consideration may be given to sensitive land. While rezoning sensitive land is permitted, it may be factored into the decision. 

• Are there affordability requirements?

  Section 3A does not require affordable units, but the by right zoning 1) cannot require more than 10% of the units in a project to be affordable and 2) the cap on the income of eligible households cannot be less than 80% AMI unless:

  1. the district is part of a chapter 40R smart growth district or other EOHLC zoning incentive program, or
  2. the requirements are supported by an economic feasibility analysis that demonstrates a reasonable variety of multi-family housing types can feasibly be developed. 

  In our the current Section 9.9 MUMFROD Zoning Bylaw, Westwood has the following inclusionary requirements:

  Total Units	Minimum Number of Affordable Units
  1-7	0
  8-9	1
  10-15	2
  16-22	3
  23-26	3
  27+	15% of total units

  
  

• Can the district have sub-districts with varying degrees of density?

  Yes, sub-districts can be less than or greater than 15 units per acre as long as the average gross density for the entire district is at least 15 units per acre. Adopting sub-districts with less than 15 units per acre could potentially require a larger district to meet the minimum unit capacity, depending on the density of the other sub-districts. 

• Can the multi-family district be located in an area where there are many single family homes on small lots?

  Yes, but it may be difficult to demonstrate such a district meets the minimum multi-family unit capacity and gross density requirements because the zoning is unlikely to allow for the construction of the required number and density of units on small parcels. 

• Can the zoning have other requirements?

  The zoning cannot impose requirements on multi-family housing that are not generally applicable to other uses. 

  Examples:

  • requirement that the multi-family housing meet higher energy efficiency standards than other uses
  • requirement that multi-family housing achieves a third party certification that is not required for other uses

• Does mixed-use zoning qualify?

  Mixed-use development zoning districts allow multi-family housing by right if combined with non-residential uses (e.g., commercial, institutional, industrial). The most recent revision of the Compliance Guidelines allows more flexibility around including mixed-use requirements in MBTA zoning. However, areas zoned as requiring mixed-use development only count toward the minimum unit capacity. These areas would not count toward the required 50 acres.

  There are many benefits to mixed-use development. Given that Westwood has a split tax rate, in which commercial is taxed at a higher rate than residential, commercial development plays an important fiscal role. Mixed-use development allows the Town to enable the opportunity to address housing needs, provide amenities and services in a walkable setting, and create a positive fiscal impact. 

  Mixed-use districts will be taken into consideration by EOHLC to reduce the unit capacity needed for a multi-family zoning district to be "reasonable" if:

  1. the mixed-use development zoning district is in an eligible location where existing village-style or downtown development (e.g. Islington Center, High Street, University Station) is essential to preserve pedestrian access to amenities;
  2. there are no age restrictions or limits on unit size, number of bedrooms, bedroom size, or number of occupants and the residential units permitted are suitable for families with children; 
  3. mixed-use development is allowed by right as interpreted by EOHLC
  4. the requirement for non-residential uses is limited to the ground floor of buildings, and in no case represents a requirement that more than 33% of the floor area of a building, lot, or project must be for non-residential uses;
  5. the requirement for non-residential uses does not preclude a minimum of three residential dwelling units per lot; 
  6. the requirement for non-residential uses allows a broad mix of non-residential uses by right in keeping with the nature of the area; and
  7. there are no minimum parking requirements associated with the non-residential uses allowed as of right. 

• Does the law require the construction of new housing?

  The intent of the law is to remove barriers to housing development. The nationwide housing crisis is a result of many factors, especially demand far outpacing the production of housing. Common barriers to housing production include, but are not limited to:

  • lengthy & expensive permitting processes, 
  • restrictive zoning regulations, and
  • the high cost of materials. 

  The MBTA Communities does not mandate that housing be built, but instead requires each MBTA community to rezone in a way that makes housing production more accessible. In other words, property owners retain their agency to decide whether they build multi-family housing or not if their land is rezoned. 

• How does zoning for multi-family housing benefit the climate?

  Transportation, followed by residential buildings, is the top contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in MA. The benefits of new transit-oriented development (TOD) include:

  • decreased dependence on private vehicles, 
  • increased opportunities to use more sustainable means of transportation,
  • greater efficiency in new construction, and
  • reduced energy consumption from multi-family housing compared to single-family housing. 

• What does 15 units per acre look like?

  Westwood already has a variety of housing densities. The density is calculated by dividing the number of housing units by the total site acreage. 

  Westwood Place (Pulte Condos) 100 units  36.4 units per acre
  Gables at University Station 350 units 51.9 units per acre
  282-298 Washington Street 18 units 21.7 units per acre
  Colburn School 6 units 13.6 units per acre
  321 Washington Street 12 units 12.5 units per acre
  401 Washington Street 9 units 8.6 units per acre