[Massplanners] Section 3A Guidelines - MBTA Communities

[Kluchman, Chris (OCD)]

Dear MassPlanners,

In December 2021, DHCD and EOHED released draft guidelines and undertook over 3 months of rigorous outreach and collection of almost 400 public comments.  Today, we are announcing the final Guidelines that require these 175 communities to adopt multi-family zoning where MF is allowed "as of right" near a transit station if there is one.  Cities and towns with no transit stations are still required to adopt zoning, but have flexibility in the location.  As summarized in a letter to the 175 MBTA Communities, Secretary Kennealy and Undersecretary Maddox summarized the following changes from draft to final:

*       Revised Community Categories: MBTA Communities are now categorized as rapid transit, commuter rail, adjacent, or adjacent small town. The "bus service" category has been eliminated.

*       Significant Adjustments for Small and Rural Towns with No Transit Stations: The final guidelines eliminate the minimum land area requirement and reduce the multi- family unit capacity requirement for communities with a population of less than 7,000 or less than 500 residents per square mile.


  *   Changes to the Reasonable Size Criteria: The guidelines establish "circuit breakers" that prevent multi-family unit capacity from exceeding 25% of a community's existing housing stock, or the minimum land from exceeding 1.5% of its total developable land area.

*       Tailored District Location Requirements: The portion of a multi-family zoning district that must be located within a half mile of a transit station now varies based on the amount of developable station area within each MBTA community. Communities with more developable station area land will be required to have more of their multi-family districts within a half mile of transit stations. A community with less than 100 developable acres within a half mile of a station will be free to choose any appropriate location.


  *   Multi-family Unit Capacity Tool: To help communities calculate multi-family unit capacity in a consistent, transparent, and data-driven way, we built a compliance model workbook tool. The compliance model will provide a GIS land map for each municipality and calculate a zoning district's multi-family unit capacity and gross density based on inputs provided by each community. This tool will be widely available for use in the fall.

Here is the link to the webpage which contains the guidelines and related materials.

Multi-Family Zoning Requirement for MBTA Communities | Mass.gov<https://www.mass.gov/info-details/multi-family-zoning-requirement-for-mbta-communities>

Please take time to review the guidelines and related materials on the website and take note of the opportunity to register for an explanatory webinar on September 9, 2022 at 1:00 p.m.

Respectfully, Chris Kluchman
Chris Kluchman, FAICP
she/her/hers
Deputy Director, Community Services Division
Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 300
Boston, MA  02114
chris.kluchman at mass.gov<mailto:chris.kluchman at mass.gov>

Please note:  DHCD staff are working remotely, I check email frequently and will respond as soon as possible.

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