Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA Communities

I doubt that would scare them very much because the majority of people in Franklin and most suburban towns do not work in Boston
 
Scott said:
I doubt that would scare them very much because the majority of people in Franklin and most suburban towns do not work in Boston
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I’d wager that the 1000 or so people who board the train daily in Franklin care much more about having transit access than the cranks care about eliminating housing. Otherwise, what are we even doing here?
 
We are discussing a law in which the only penalty for noncompliance is disqualification from certain grants. What are you talking about?
 
Scott said:
We are discussing a law in which the only penalty for noncompliance is disqualification from certain grants. What are you talking about?
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I’m half seriously adding that the state should go further and just remove non-compliant towns from the MBTA Communities by depriving them of mass transit.
 
That's certainly a reaction a lot of us have had. Unfortunately, those riding transit and those opposing zoning changes probably don't overlap much, so it's hard to say whether it would have any actual effect, while it would hurt transit ridership. It would also be nearly impossible to enforce, as some riders would drive to the next town's station, and some towns subject to the law don't have a station/route in their town at all.

If a stronger stick ends up being needed, I would suggest some combination of:
  • The state will no longer pay for any road maintenance or construction in the towns
  • Prop 2 1/2 no longer applies to that town
  • The town loses all local zoning control over multi-unit developments. If it's within building code, it's automatically approved.
  • The state will create a zoning plan for the town. Unlike those the towns create themselves, it will actually be feasible to construct all of the zoned units.
  • Any town-owned station parking lots (and other undeveloped land near transit) can be seized by the state for housing to be built.
 
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