Towns settling for 'bare minimum' with housing law, advocates say. Why they're upset

There’s a new challenge to Massachusetts’ housing crisis: bare minimum compliance to the state's MBTA communities zoning law.

Local governments that are in the next phase of the Multi-Family Zoning Requirement for MBTA Communities rollout will decide this year whether to do the "bare minimum" to comply with state law or follow the intention of the 2021 act and create significant opportunities for more housing.

Many are caught between conflicting pressures from the Healey administration’s threats to punish non-compliance and residents’ concerns over potential neighborhood changes.

A recent town discussion in Ashland about the law brought up familiar sentiments of worry, frustration and confusion.

'By right': MBTA communities must have zoning where multifamily housing can be built

“I have concerns about — like everyone — our schools, and the rapid development that’s taken place and overcrowding,” one Ashland resident said.

“The town should be banding together and fighting this,” said another.

Ashland Planning Board chair says town will take 'low-hanging fruit option'

Town Planning Board Chair Tricia Kendall told residents that Ashland’s plan to comply with the law’s Dec. 31 deadline to develop new zoning regulations doesn’t represent a housing overhaul. The town is undergoing a separate process to determine what housing, transportation and other local priorities will look like in the coming decade.

“We're kind of taking the low-hanging fruit option,” Kendall said during a recent meeting. “The fact that we have a comprehensive plan project in process kind of makes me lean toward not making any big decisions now.”

Housing experts and advocates say this approach — which they also call "minimal" or "paper" compliance — hinders the MBTA Communities Act’s effectiveness at tackling the statewide housing crisis.

The state zoning regulation requires cities and towns served by the MBTA to outline at least one zoning district, within a half-mile of a public transportation stop, where it's legal to build multifamily units — such as apartments or triple-deckers — without special permits or age restrictions. The Legislature passed the law to encourage increased housing development and public transit use.

Boston University public policy professor Katherine Levine Einstein said the state got involved in zoning policy — which is usually left to cities and towns — because local government worsened Massachusetts’ housing crisis by making construction “extraordinarily difficult and cumbersome.”

“MBTA Communities overrides local governments’ control over land use and forces them to change these policies,” Einstein said. “So we can actually start getting closer to building to meet demand.”

State files lawsuit against Milton after residents reject compliance plan

The state recently revoked funding from Milton and filed a lawsuit against the town after residents there voted down a compliance plan in February.

“Housing is a top priority for our state,” Gov. Maura Healey said in response to a question posed during a recent State House press availability. “While we have withheld funding, and we will continue to enforce the law, we will also work with communities to get them into compliance.”

But Greg Reibman — who represents the interests of businesses and nonprofits west of Boston as president of the Needham-based Charles River Regional Chamber — recently wrote in Commonwealth Beacon that he worries some Commuter Rail communities won’t follow the intent of the law.

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Reibman wrote that Wellesley’s plan to zone an apartment development called The Nines as a "transit-oriented district" to fit MBTA Communities requirements demonstrates “paper compliance” instead of meaningful change. The apartment is already under construction and separated from the closest Commuter Rail stop by the Charles River.

“You literally would need a canoe or a bathing suit to get to work every day if you were going to take the T without a pretty long walk,” Reibman said in a recent interview. “It's counting existing units, rather than creating opportunities for new homes.”

Wellesley Planning Director Eric Arbeene said the town already had enough land allowing multi-unit construction to “meet and exceed the requirements” set by the act. The town’s plan for compliance updates Wellesley’s zoning laws to remove special permit requirements for multifamily housing.

“We're not creating any new districts," he said. "It's the addition of a definition and changes to a few other parts of the bylaw. We're not rezoning any single-family neighborhoods or anything like that.”

Wellesley officials say compliance doesn't mean it's 'done with housing'

Like Ashland, Wellesley has a separate Strategic Housing Plan to study its needs and receive community feedback on next steps.

“Compliance with the MBTA law doesn’t mean the town is done with housing,” Arbeene said.

But Reibman said long-term town planning programs won’t move fast enough to address the immediate need for more housing in Massachusetts.

“It could really be years before we see any new housing opportunities,” he said. “This housing crisis is not one of those things that we can really afford to wait.”

Wellesley Town Meeting, which starts March 25, will vote on its MBTA Communities plan.

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Einstein and other researchers found in 2019 that local government meetings about zoning and housing are often co-opted by residents who passionately oppose new development, but don’t reflect the views or interests of most of the local population.

These residents — usually wealthy and white — participate effectively in municipal politics to prevent or slow new housing construction, according to the researchers’ book.

Civil rights attorney says lack of multifamily housing reinforces racial segregation

Civil rights attorney Jacob Love said the resulting lack of affordable, multifamily housing in Massachusetts reinforces racial segregation.

“When towns say, ‘We don't want multifamily housing,’ they know that they're preventing the creation of opportunity for low-income people — who are more likely to be people of color — to be able to move there,” Love said.

A 2021 investigation from nonprofit research center Boston Indicators found that local governments in Greater Boston have historically used zoning to exclude people of color, low-income residents and “any newcomers/outsiders at all.”

But Jeff Semon, a conservative commentator and former Republican congressional candidate, said equating local opposition to housing construction with purposeful discrimination is "not a fair characterization.”

“To jump to racism immediately is probably just silly,” Semon said. “It’s usually the first reactionary statement that an advocate would do — to cast aspersions on people who don’t want to go along with their plans.”

Semon said the MBTA Communities Act should be more flexible, so cities and towns can shape development to their local needs. The state made revisions to the law in 2022 and 2023 to incorporate feedback from municipalities.

In Framingham, planning officials are looking to be “ahead of the curve” on MBTA Communities compliance by considering how to increase housing opportunities and further the city’s economic development goals, according to District 1 City Councilor Christine Long, who chairs the council's Planning & Zoning Subcommittee.

“We're trying to work on ways to get creative in our housing,” she said.

Framingham plan may include housing district near Shoppers World

Planning & Community Development Director Sarkis Sarkisian said Framingham already has “plenty of multifamily housing,” but he plans to present ideas for MBTA Communities compliance that could encourage more housing construction and strengthen the city’s economy.

He discussed one idea with the City Council to create a small multifamily housing district near Shoppers World, which is near a Logan Express shuttle stop.

“Why couldn't we have some multifamily housing there?” Sarkisian said in a recent interview. “The folks that work at Logan could live at Shoppers World, because not only could they have housing — they could have free transportation to get back and forth to work.”

'Family stopping place': Shoppers World's 1951 opening started Framingham's history as a shopping mecca

Sarkisian said opportunities to incentivize mixed land-use — with commercial and residential buildings — could promote transit-oriented, affordable housing options and help local businesses.

Long said finding consensus for a MBTA Communities zoning plan will be hard work.

“There’s a lot of people that don’t want to see more housing,” she said. “I think the biggest challenge is finding the areas that everybody is going to agree on.”

Advocacy groups say some see creating more housing as 'smart'

Advocacy groups like Citizens Housing and Planning Association and Abundant Housing Massachusetts facilitate community conversations about the state zoning requirements to inform residents about the law and encourage dialogue.

Citizens Housing and Planning Association engagement manager Lily Linke said residents at local meetings often responded negatively to news about the MBTA Communities Act at first, but some felt differently after multiple rounds of open conversation.

“At first meeting, people are upset, they're confused, they're angry,” Linke said. “I've seen just how much people's perspective can change when given the time to learn more, connect with people and feel a part of the process.”

Linke said although some local governments remain reluctant to do more than the bare minimum to comply with the state’s multifamily zoning mandate, others will recognize that making serious efforts to make housing more abundant and transit-oriented is the “smart thing to do.”

“Communities who do choose to take it a step further are going to see the benefits of that,” Linke said “In the next five to 10 years, I hope that other communities nearby feel inspired.”

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: MA affordable housing law sees towns settling for bare minimum