Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA Communities

Justbuildit said:
The article is behind a paywall, so I can't tell if they're still within the bounds of the MBTA Communities regulations or if this scaling back puts them out of compliance. Either way, the 28% coverage and abysmal <0.5 FAR cap is laughable.
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The Planning Department told Town Meeting that they believe the districts will still comply, although some speakers on Monday raised the possibility the state could knock back Lexington's 15% for 14+ units affordable housing mandate, and force some form of lower percentage. The theoretical unit cap will certainly be higher than their MBTA Communities minimum, though, and the district size is definitely way above the required 50 acres.

Presentations and motions from the special town meeting are available on the town website: https://lexingtonma.gov/2265/2025-1-Special-Town-Meeting

EDIT: We did some additional digging and there are a handful of properties where developers rushed to begin the initial steps required to redevelop them before Monday's vote, and they could generate a few thousand more homes. The rollback's proponents, a group of town residents, estimated up to 4,474 new homes, but that seems to reflect theoretical "zoning capacity" calculations, not actual development proposals.
 
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Justbuildit said:
The article is behind a paywall, so I can't tell if they're still within the bounds of the MBTA Communities regulations or if this scaling back puts them out of compliance. Either way, the 28% coverage and abysmal <0.5 FAR cap is laughable.
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I'm sure they are still meeting the requirements - the original zoning went way beyond the minimums required by the state. For all of the public freakout over MBTA Communities, the requirements are not very difficult to meet (particularly where you have good infrastructure). It looks like Lexington will produce in the ballpark of 1,095 units from the first round of MBTA zoning. I would not expect much more under the new requirements. I don't think that number deserves all the blowback it's received, but it is still much more than most communities.
 
Lexington also isn't *that* transit accessible - the only service is the 62 and 76. They have 20-25 minutes combined at peak, but hourly off-peak and no Sunday service. It's a depends-on-traffic 20-minute ride to Alewife; even if you increase frequency and service span, Lexington is (barring a Red Line extension) permanently dependent on bus service operating in mixed traffic. I'm much more concerned about areas where it is possible to build true TOD around rail or high-quality bus service.
 
This also shows the insane pent-up demand that restrictive zoning has been holding back this whole time, as well as makes a strong argument for why all towns have to participate for this law to work - if all other towns near Lexington had upzoned to the same extent, I doubt any individual town would have seen this much proposed development this quickly (though maybe I’m wrong because of that insane demand). Makes me wonder what percentage population increase we’d see in the next decade if we changed the rules today to allow this kind of multi-family as of right across the whole greater Boston area.
 
I think a larger impact on localized demand would come from harmonizing schools across the state. If educational outcomes were not so closely tied to where a family lived, there wouldn’t be such demand hotspots.
 
I really wish they didn’t pull back the requirements as much. The (alleged) 13,500 units that the article seems like a really high prediction given the relatively small area that the zoning districts are in, and given that most other towns around it are doing close to the bare minimum in the law (Woburn, Waltham, Belmont and Lincoln in particular), Lexington should’ve been more than prepared to pick up the slack.
Plus, while the town has fairly limited transit currently (62, 76 and the LexPress), all of the former districts were along one of those corridors, and its entirely possible that more development would prompt transit improvements and/or more usage of the Minuteman Bikeway. Infrastructure doesn’t exist in vacuum.
 
themissinglink said:
nemasket.theweektoday.com

Middleboro settles MBTA lawsuit, agrees to add new subdistrict

MIDDLEBORO — Middleboro has settled its lawsuit with the state and agreed to support creating an area on East Clark Street for market-rate and affordable housing in lieu of following state-mandated MBTA Communities Act requirements. "This is a huge...
nemasket.theweektoday.com nemasket.theweektoday.com
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Not really related to the topic at hand but

Next week, McGrail said, the town will apply for a $2 million Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant to construct a new parking lot behind Center Street in the downtown.
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Really interested in how a parking lot connects to "vulnerability preparedness"
 
www.nbcboston.com

Key hearing scheduled Wednesday on MBTA Communities Act

A judge in Plymouth County will hear several lawsuits on Wednesday morning regarding the MBTA Communities Act. Several towns want to be exempt from the law, which requires communities to build multi-family housing near train stations. Marshfield, Middleboro, Middleton, Wrentham and Hanson have...
www.nbcboston.com www.nbcboston.com
 
themissinglink said:
www.nbcboston.com

Key hearing scheduled Wednesday on MBTA Communities Act

A judge in Plymouth County will hear several lawsuits on Wednesday morning regarding the MBTA Communities Act. Several towns want to be exempt from the law, which requires communities to build multi-family housing near train stations. Marshfield, Middleboro, Middleton, Wrentham and Hanson have...
www.nbcboston.com www.nbcboston.com
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"...which requires communities to build..."

Factually incorrect, maybe a lie. Next!
 
Scott said:
The problem with the designation is that it is not correct, the subway does not pass thru Milton, and the state knows it was going to be a problem, so they changed it just for them. Do you know something we don't know? I am not aware of opposition to a Red Line expansion, or even an actual plan outside AB. The opposition in the town is based in East Milton because of the highway and lack of transit

Edit: clarity
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How different is the Milton high speed to the outer branches of the Green Line whose communities are equally affected by this state zoning law change? It's primarily the demographics of the neighborhood at best - infrastructure and investment wise for state agencies it's not at all and infact likely much higher because Milton wants to be more important with it's own light rail line.
 
What exactly do you mean when you say equal? What does " It's primarily the demographics of the neighborhood at best" supposed to mean and which neighborhood? The line serves Dorchester, Milton, and Mattapan. There is 100 years of history, you and your buddy Henry should learn a bit about it before you call people out.
 
Scott said:
you and your buddy Henry should learn a bit about it before you call people out.
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:rolleyes:
You do know it's possible to form different opinions on this topic, right? And the assumption that we don't know the history or who the line serves is laughable if I'm being charitable. Since you felt the need for a gratuitous insult, I think I've asked you this question before, but I can't recall that you answered. If the Silver Line is considered rapid transit by this law (and it is), then why wouldn't the High Speed Line, which is substantially better service, not also merit the designation?
 
The Silver Line is the second transfer you would make if you were going to the airport via the Mattapan/Ashmont. It takes three to get to the Blue Line. This trolley is not a subway train, it is a bus with a ROW far from DT. Somerville, Brookline and all the rest use the better cars and they go directly DT or one transfer to the airport.
 
Congratulations, you've found one destination for which the Silver Line is better. That doesn't alter the inequality much. If the HSL is inadequate, then Milton should partner with the state on building something better. But why would the state do that if Milton can't even make a ridiculously minor commitment to more housing?
 
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