Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA Communities

tldr, she is not against the law, but she believes that the state was obligated to provide implementation funding starting in 2021 and failed to do so.

Regardless of whether she is right (she probably is, in a technical sense), I bet that the "unfunded mandate" clause will be taken out of context weaponized against the law by nimbys.
DiZoglio told CommonWealth Beacon she was “surprised and taken aback by the rather harsh response and believe it may be due to some misunderstandings as to what this determination means.” Her office isn’t challenging the MBTA Communities law but instead stating that it’s a mandate and the state is required to cover the costs of implementation, she added, noting that she voted for the law as a state legislator.
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DiZoglio said that the law’s language should’ve included a provision for funding. She acknowledged the establishment of state grant programs to cover the cost of compliance set up in 2024, but based her office’s decision on the fact that did not happen at the same time as the establishment of the law, in January 2021, she said.
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nemasket.theweektoday.com

Schools lose $73K grant due to MBTA non-compliance

MIDDLEBORO — Middleboro School Committee members and Superintendent of Schools Carolyn Lyons reacted angrily at their Feb. 27 meeting to the state’s decision to withdraw an education grant of $73,705 because the town refuses to comply with the MBTA...
nemasket.theweektoday.com nemasket.theweektoday.com
“We’re getting screwed, for lack of a better term,’’ committee chair Allin Frawley said.

Committee members agreed to draft a letter in opposition to the decision. “We need to take a really strong’’ stance, said committee member Susan Pennini. “This is outrageous. Given that it’s about money that’s already been spent makes it doubly so.’’
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www.duxburyclipper.com

Town files for MBTA exemption - Duxbury Clipper

Duxbury is headed to court to seek an exemption from the MBTA Communities Act, after the state auditor’s office decided that the law is an unfunded mandate placed on local communities by the state. On Monday, Duxbury Town Counsel Amy Kwesell of KP Law announced this decision after a closed-door...
www.duxburyclipper.com www.duxburyclipper.com
 

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $8.7 Million to Compliant MBTA Communities in Support of New Housing​

“The Healey-Driscoll Administration awarded $8.7 million in MBTA Community Catalyst Funds to 10 fully compliant MBTA communities in FY25.

Cities and towns across the state are working hard to develop housing for their residents in new multifamily districts created by the MBTA Communities Law. In recognition of this progress, the administration established the MBTA Communities Catalyst Fund competitive grant awards to support activities related to housing creation, from improving or expanding critical infrastructure, to funding the acquisition of land for new development.

“The MBTA Communities Law is already paving the way for new housing for Massachusetts residents, and today we are proud to award the first round of MBTA Community Catalyst Funds in support of cities and towns that are working hard to bring down housing costs for their residents,” said Governor Maura Healey…..”

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $8.7 Million to Compliant MBTA Communities in Support of New Housing

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $8.7 Million to Compliant MBTA Communities in Support of New Housing
www.bldup.com www.bldup.com
 
stick n move said:

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $8.7 Million to Compliant MBTA Communities in Support of New Housing​

“The Healey-Driscoll Administration awarded $8.7 million in MBTA Community Catalyst Funds to 10 fully compliant MBTA communities in FY25.

Cities and towns across the state are working hard to develop housing for their residents in new multifamily districts created by the MBTA Communities Law. In recognition of this progress, the administration established the MBTA Communities Catalyst Fund competitive grant awards to support activities related to housing creation, from improving or expanding critical infrastructure, to funding the acquisition of land for new development.

“The MBTA Communities Law is already paving the way for new housing for Massachusetts residents, and today we are proud to award the first round of MBTA Community Catalyst Funds in support of cities and towns that are working hard to bring down housing costs for their residents,” said Governor Maura Healey…..”

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $8.7 Million to Compliant MBTA Communities in Support of New Housing

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $8.7 Million to Compliant MBTA Communities in Support of New Housing
www.bldup.com www.bldup.com
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Interesting that two of the 50 “fully compliant” communities selected by the Healey-Driscoll administration were Arlington & Salem.
 

Winthrop residents sue to get out from under MBTA rezoning requirement they say will ruin the town​


“A group of 11 Winthrop residents today sued the state to block a requirement the town rezone land to allow some denser residential development, saying it will mean a "catastrophic impact" both by overburdening town's services and by setting up the potential for a literal disaster in a town only barely connected to the rest of the state, by just two roads.

The suit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, claims the rezoning requirement for communities served by the MBTA, and enacted when Charlie Baker was governor, is an illegal "unfunded mandate," based on a determination last month to that effect by State Auditor Diana DiZoglio…….”

www.universalhub.com

Winthrop residents sue to get out from under MBTA rezoning requirement they say will ruin the town

A group of 11 Winthrop residents today sued the state to block a requirement the town rezone land to allow some denser residential development, saying it will mean a "catastrophic impact" both by overburdening town's services and by setting up the potential for a literal disaster in a town only...
www.universalhub.com www.universalhub.com
 
Faced with a voter freak-out over the number of developments pitched in the last year, former pro-housing poster child Lexington has dramatically scaled back its MBTA Communities districts.

Of note, not only did the vote remove a number of large parcels from its MBTA zoning districts, it also put in some pretty stringent dimensional regulations. The town has a 15% affordability mandate in its MBTA zoning districts.

bankerandtradesman.com

Lexington Slashes MBTA Zoning After Development Boom

Officials dramatically reined in Lexington's MBTA Communities zoning districts after significantly more development than first anticipated.
bankerandtradesman.com bankerandtradesman.com

Town Meeting members voted nearly unanimously Monday night to cut the town’s zoning capacity under the law from nearly 13,500 units to just 2,411, including 1,097 in projects already proposed in the last year. The size of the district, in pure acreage terms, was cut roughly in half.
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“We do need to increase the amount of housing in the Boston area. However, when we realized how much would be created, we saw the town needed to do more planning to accommodate that kind of growth. We need to be able to slow down the growth to be able to provide services for this new development,” said Carol Sacerdote, one of the five petitioners.
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“These projects arrived at a pace the Planning Board didn’t anticipate,” Planning Board Chair Michael Schanbacher told Town Meeting.

The motion had the support of most key town bodies like the Select Board and the committee overseeing Lexington’s affordable housing trust fund.
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Future projects will only be able to cover 28 percent of their lots, parking included, and have a maximum floor-area ratio of 0.48. Density will be capped at 20 units per acre for all-residential projects and 25 units per acre for mixed-use buildings.

Height will be cut off at 40 feet or 3 stories for residential buildings and 50 feet or 4 stories for mixed-use ones.
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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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