Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA Communities

Geography forces them unless they want to zone an area that includes a great number of historic homes. I am just as curious as the next guy to see what they come up with
 
Scott said:
I am not aware of opposition to a Red Line expansion, or even an actual plan outside AB.
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There aren't any current plans for it. A Red Line extension to Mattapan was planned back in the 60s, but there was a considerable amount of opposition.
 
themissinglink said:
There aren't any current plans for it. A Red Line extension to Mattapan was planned back in the 60s, but there was a considerable amount of opposition.
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IIRC it came up in the past few years when the MBTA was discussing options for the future of the line and their stance was that it was not feasible due to RoW constraints moving through the cedar grove cemetery. That was a dubious assertion according to a few members of this board, but I think reflects the T's own unwillingness (at least at the time) to consider it.
 
themissinglink said:
There aren't any current plans for it. A Red Line extension to Mattapan was planned back in the 60s, but there was a considerable amount of opposition.
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There was historic opposition every time they tried to turn it into a bus too. That was back when nothing was built in Lower Mills because it was depressed. Now, there is a considerable amount of development going on there and maybe that will necessitate an upgrade someday soon
 
KCasiglio said:
IIRC it came up in the past few years when the MBTA was discussing options for the future of the line and their stance was that it was not feasible due to RoW constraints moving through the cedar grove cemetery. That was a dubious assertion according to a few members of this board, but I think reflects the T's own unwillingness (at least at the time) to consider it.
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Besides the Cedar Grove Cemetary, there are also the issues of it running at grade along the Neponset River which is undergoing a major effort to clean up and a couple street crossings
 
Scott said:
Besides the Cedar Grove Cemetary, there are also the issues of it running at grade along the Neponset River which is undergoing a major effort to clean up and a couple street crossings
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No, there isn't. You keep repeating these falsehoods every single time a Red-Mattapan topic gets breached, and it gets no less wrong every time you repeat it. The engineering record from the High Speed Line's 1928 conversion explicitly provisions for eventual conversion to HRT should the grade crossings (one of which is also provisioned with half an incline) get eliminated. This is long-settled fact.
 
Scott said:
There was historic opposition every time they tried to turn it into a bus too. That was back when nothing was built in Lower Mills because it was depressed. Now, there is a considerable amount of development going on there and maybe that will necessitate an upgrade someday soon
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It is being upgraded to full LRT in the next 10-15 years. I doubt we'll see more than that anytime soon.
 
The stations will also be upgraded to accommodate the new rolling stock.

Anyway, people are frustrated with Milton's refusal to comply, but the good news is that there are a number of parcels in the town that will be upzoned and almost surely will be built upon. Surprisingly three of them are prime riverfront parcels that are all connected by the Neponset Bike Trail that will soon connect to the Harborwalk in one direction, and the Blue Hills in the other. There is an aging nursing home across from Mattapan Sq, one is a lot in Baker's Chocolate in Milton Village next to Milton Station, and the other is a 1980's office building on Granite Ave. There are a number of parcels on the Boston side of the river too, but this is about Milton.

Like the Seaport or the East Boston waterfront, places like this are suddenly viable because of the efforts to clean up the harbor and its rivers. The Lower Neponset from Mother Brook to the estuary had been declared a Superfund, and the removal of industrial waste and PCBs is ongoing ahead of the removal of two dams. The dream is to create a huge Emerald Necklace scale linear park system and a swimmable river that would be the envy of any major city.

I hope that people take a look at these parcels and imagine what can now be built there, and I hope people support the ongoing efforts to clean up the harbor because it opens up new areas for development.
 

7 myths about the MBTA Communities Act, debunked by experts​

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“We asked Boston.com readers for their questions about the law, and took seven common misconceptions generated from those questions to housing and zoning experts to answer.

Below, Emma Battaglia, a land use planner with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and Ed Augustus, the Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, weighed in on some common misconceptions.

Where do these misconceptions come from? Short answer: A general fear of the new and unknown. Such worries are common and understandable, especially when it comes to changes happening in your community, Battaglia said.

“There’s often an overall misconception that new housing is going to hurt your neighborhood or hurt your property values, and that allowing more flexible zoning is going to be the vehicle that drives that. I think that’s where the roots of the misconceptions are coming from,” she said………”

https://www.boston.com/news/communi...ities-act-misconceptions-debunked-by-experts/
 
One little nitpick...

Not all of us have subscriptions to every online source posted here. Could whoever posts something that is behind a paywall kindly give a short summary of what they are posting?
 
Lexington has been a leader in MBTA zoning. It zoned more areas than required and significantly eased height/density requirements. Already 613 new units have been approved under the zoning and 481 units are under review.

Still, it’s very easy to petition for zoning changes in towns in Massachusetts - often you can do it by collecting just 10 signatures - and a petition has been filed to roll back Lexington’s MBTA zoning (not completely kill it but reduce to what is required under the law). Given the amount of attention placed on Lexington, this is not super surprising, but still a bit disappointing.

lexobserver.org

Citizen petition calls for amending Lexington’s zoning bylaw to limit MBTA Communities Act multifamily housing

Town Meeting’s vote on the article, originally planned for Feb. 3, was delayed until March 17 to allow the Planning Board to host two public hearings on the issue.
lexobserver.org lexobserver.org
 
www.thesunchronicle.com

Norton, Wrentham submit intentions to state to comply with MBTA law

Norton and Wrentham, the two Attleboro area communities that haven’t approved new zoning districts to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, are moving in that direction.
www.thesunchronicle.com www.thesunchronicle.com
www.lowellsun.com

Dracut in temporary compliance with MBTA Communities Act

DRACUT — A divided Board of Selectmen voted to bring the town into temporary compliance with the MBTA Communities Act, a law signed in 2021 by then-Gov. Charlie Baker intended to address the state’…
www.lowellsun.com www.lowellsun.com
 
www.boston.com

After rejecting MBTA Communities Act rules, Milton voted against delivering action plan by deadline

Milton’s Select Board voted against submitting an MBTA Communities Act action plan by the state deadline, citing issues with its designation.
www.boston.com
At its meeting Friday, a majority of the Milton Select Board voted against submitting such a plan and in favor of sending a letter to the EOHLC requesting an opportunity to discuss the town’s classification as a rapid transit community.
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Smuttynose said:
Lexington has been a leader in MBTA zoning. It zoned more areas than required and significantly eased height/density requirements. Already 613 new units have been approved under the zoning and 481 units are under review.

Still, it’s very easy to petition for zoning changes in towns in Massachusetts - often you can do it by collecting just 10 signatures - and a petition has been filed to roll back Lexington’s MBTA zoning (not completely kill it but reduce to what is required under the law). Given the amount of attention placed on Lexington, this is not super surprising, but still a bit disappointing.

lexobserver.org

Citizen petition calls for amending Lexington’s zoning bylaw to limit MBTA Communities Act multifamily housing

Town Meeting’s vote on the article, originally planned for Feb. 3, was delayed until March 17 to allow the Planning Board to host two public hearings on the issue.
lexobserver.org lexobserver.org
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Ironically this is happening as Lexington is getting some good press for its housing production efforts —

America’s Most Exclusive Suburbs Are Finally Building More Housing​

States—and even historic towns like Lexington, Massachusetts—are easing real estate zoning to fight the affordability crisis. Will local support for the Yimby crowd last?
 
www.miltontimes.com

Select Board votes to press for MBTA zoning reclassification

The Select Board agreed to resist the state’s most recent request toward compliance with the MBTA Communities zoning law on Feb. 14 - making it exactly one year to the
www.miltontimes.com www.miltontimes.com

commonwealthbeacon.org

A new wrinkle in MBTA Communities rebellion, courtesy of DiZoglio

Responding to a request from Wrentham officials, Auditor Diana DiZoglio waded into a local battle over the controversial MBTA Communities law, finding that the law is an “unfunded mandate” handed down by state officials.
commonwealthbeacon.org commonwealthbeacon.org
 
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