Mass. Legislature approves 'streamlined permitting' bill
Boston Business Journal - July 28, 2006
The Massachusetts Legislature on Thursday approved and sent to the desk of Gov. Mitt Romney a bill that would streamline the permitting processes for development.
According to the Boston chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the permitting reform bill would:
* Create a new permit session of the Land Court.
* Allow developers to continue at their own risk in the face of an appeal once a special permit is granted.
* Provide funding for the Division of Administrative Law Appeals to remove the backlog of environmental appeals and require a 90 day-decision on future appeals.
* Require the MassHighways commissioner to create regulations for expediting access permits.
* Create the Massachusetts Permit Regulatory Office within the Executive Office of Economic Development.
* Change the Expedited Permitting Act -- also known as Chapter 43D -- to encourage more communities to opt in to a 180-day, site specific expedited permitting process.
Greg Vasil, chief executive officer of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, said passage of the bill is the first step to reinvigorating the tax base of Massachusetts through development.
Vasil said the bill will allow developers to move forward on projects requiring special permits at their own risk even if the projects are being challenged in court. Historically, residents have able to hold up projects in court for years due to a lengthy appeal process that created a back log of cases.
"People don't want a project in their neighborhood, and delay is victory," he said.
