The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) yesterday released draft guidelines for MBTA Communities regarding new multi-family zoning requirements signed into law earlier this year. 

Click here to access the full text of the Draft Guidance.

Click here to access guidance for municipalities specifically on compliance for 2022.

Click here to access additional informational resources from DHCD.

Enacted as part of the economic development bill in January 2021, new Section 3A of M.G.L. c. 40A (the Zoning Act) requires that an MBTA Community shall have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right and meets other criteria set forth in the statute:

Which Communities Are Impacted: “MBTA community” is defined by reference to M.G.L. c. 161A, sec. 1:

In total, 175 MBTA communities are subject to the new requirements of Section 3A of the Zoning Act. This includes 30 of 36 495/MetroWest Partnership communities.

495/MetroWest municipalities that are MBTA Communities are Acton, Ashland, Bellingham, Boxborough, Foxborough, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Harvard, Holliston, Hopkinton, Littleton, Marlborough, Maynard, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Natick, Norfolk, Northborough, Sherborn, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Stow, Sudbury, Upton, Wayland, Westborough, Westford, and Wrentham.

Allowing Multi-Family Housing “As of Right”: To comply with Section 3A, a multi-family district must allow multi-family housing “as of right,” meaning that the construction and occupancy of multi-family housing is allowed in that district without the need to obtain any discretionary permit or approval. Site plan review and approval may be required for multi-family uses allowed as of right. Site plan review is a process by which a local board reviews a project’s site layout to ensure public safety and convenience. Site plan approval may regulate matters such as vehicular access and circulation on a site, architectural design of a building, and screening of adjacent properties. Site plan review may not be used to deny a project that is allowed as of right, nor may it impose conditions that make it infeasible or impractical to proceed with a multi-family use that is allowed as of right. 

Public Comment: DHCD is accepting public comment on the compliance guidance through March 31st, 2022. DHCD intends to spend the next few months soliciting input and feedback from key stakeholders, particularly towns and cities. Final guidelines will be issued in summer 2022. Click here to submit public comment online. 

Compliance for 2022: To remain in compliance while DHCD is collecting public comment on the Draft Guidelines, an MBTA community must:

Click here to access full guidance for municipalities specifically on compliance for 2022.

Penalties for Noncompliance: An MBTA community that does not comply with Section 3A is not eligible for funding from the Housing Choice Initiative, the Local Capital Projects Fund, or the MassWorks Infrastructure Program.

Informational Session: DHCD will host a virtual webinar on Multi-Family Zoning Requirement for MBTA Communities on Wednesday, January 12th at 1:00 PM. This session will be hosted via Zoom; access information will be posted at this site when it becomes available. 

Earlier this week, Governor Baker signed into law a $4 billion spending plan which utilizes ARPA funding to support continued recovery across key priority areas, making substantial investments in housing and homeownership, healthcare, workforce development, premium pay for essential workers and infrastructure. 

Included within the signed version of the bill are over $10.5 million worth of investments specific to 495/MetroWest communities. These items include:

Click here to review the complete text of the Session Law resulting from the signed legislation.

The Water Resources Committee of the 495/MetroWest Partnership will host a presentation and discussion on the #InvestInWaterMA initiative on Tuesday, January 11th at 8:30 AM. The #InvestInWaterMA effort aims to see water, sewer, and wastewater infrastructure prioritized for new infrastructure funding. State and federal policymakers will be making critical decisions about where and how to invest billions of dollars in federal infrastructure and COVID relief funding in the coming months and years.

Key messages of the campaign include the funding gap for cities, towns, and regional water utilities for water infrastructure needs, and the positive relationship between water/ wastewater infrastructure investment and increased economic activity. The effort is being led by the Utility Contractors Association of New England (UCANE) with the support of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts, MassBIO, the Massachusetts Water Works Association, NAIOP, the New England Water Works Association, and the Wastewater Advisory Committee to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. To learn more about the effort visit www.ucane.com/investinwaterma.

The informational presentation and discussion for 495/MetroWest Partnership stakeholders on Tuesday, January 11th at 8:30 AM will be hosted virtually via Zoom; click here to register.

MassDOT is planning to open a new round of the Shared Streets and Spaces grant program in January 2022. MAPC will host a webinar on the next round of funding on Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 at 10:00 AM; click here to register for the webinar. The new round of funding will focus on transit and roadway safety.

The webinar will provide details regarding the new round of funding, and will include a presentation from MassDOT. The webinar will also include a presentation from the Barr Foundation on a new report, Quick and Creative Street Projects, that provides results from 23 municipalities that received program funding throughout 2020 and 2021.

The Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program was first established in June 2020 in the wake of the pandemic to assist municipalities in meeting their individual needs for more and safer outdoor recreation, commerce, community activities, and mobility. The program was then relaunched in November 2020 to help municipalities address the particular challenges of winter amid the ongoing public health crisis. Grant-funded projects have ranged from dedicated bus and bike lanes to seasonal parklets, road diets, safer crosswalks, and new bike share stations.

In Case You Missed It: Check Out the 495/MetroWest

In response to nationwide supply chain issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 495/MetroWest Partnership has undertaken an effort to support and promote businesses in the region engaged in manufacturing, supplying raw materials, warehousing, transportation, and logistics. The Partnership is pleased to launch the 495/MetroWest Supply Chain Directory, an online informational resource focused on enhancing information about these businesses, aimed at supporting regional supply chain resiliency and encouraging local sourcing. The new directory can be accessed online at 495Supply.org.

The project was funded through a grant awarded from the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, as part of its 2021 Regional Pilot Program, a statewide effort to spur economic activity as the state reopened following pandemic-related closures.

The directory launched with over 250 businesses across the 36 cities and towns served by the 495/MetroWest Partnership. Eligible businesses may request to be included in the directory via a portal available directly on the site; there is no cost to a business to be listed. To be eligible, a business must have a physical presence in one of the region’s 36 cities and towns, and produce unfinished goods, components, or materials not intended for retail sale to the public, or otherwise be engaged in transportation and logistics.

The directory is intended to be a living project; businesses interested in being included are encouraged to submit their information through the +Add Your Business portal at the top of the directory.

Statistics about businesses currently listed in the directory:

Information available through the directory includes basic company descriptions, products or services produced, website and contact information, as well as client industries served. The new directory also includes information on transportation and logistics, highlighting the region’s convenient proximity to large and small airports, ports, highways, and rail infrastructure.