The Housing Production Plan Implementation Committee met on Tuesday afternoon to discuss getting the town in compliance with the multi-family zoning requirement for MBTA communities. This law, passed in late 2021, requires that an MBTA community shall have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted. The law applies to 177 Massachusetts communities.
Town Planner Rebecca Curran Cutting presented the committee with the majority of the background information as well as updates. She reiterated that as an MBTA-adjacent community, there is one component of the law that Marblehead does not need to adhere to.
“Marblehead was classified as an adjacent community,” Curran Cutting said. “Adjacent communities are those that are adjacent to municipalities that contain MBTA stations. This means that the district can be located anywhere within the town … in earlier classifications we would have had to be one half mile from our bus route, but that’s no longer the case.”
She also gave examples of multiple locations within town that comply with the amount of residential units per acre. A new factor introduced Tuesday was the potential adoption of Chapter 40R, also known as the Smart Growth Zoning Overlay District Act.
“Upon adoption of 40R, Marblehead would receive an incentive payment in unrestricted state funds, ranging from $10,000 to $600,000,” Curran Cutting read. “For every building permit issued in the 40R district, the town would receive an additional $3,000. In addition, adoption of 40R would entitle Marblehead to priority consideration for several state discretionary grant programs.”
The town used Smart Growth in the development of two multi-family housing developments in Vinnin Square as well as the old YMCA on School Street.
The committee expressed interest in expanding on 40R, as member Kurt James suggested hiring a 40R consultant to assist in the expedition of being able to adopt the policy. However, Curran Cutting explained that she believes this third-party assistance would not be necessary.
“A consultant before helped us put together the guidelines and the warrant article and all that which is done,” Curran Cutting said. “It’s just expanding it, so I don’t know if we need that sort of assistance with the 40R this time.”
James suggested the committee take a vote on writing a letter to the Planning Board expressing interest in expanding 40R communities, but the vote was postponed due to some of the members not being present.
Marblehead must comply with the law by Dec. 31, 2024. It plans on having its zoning communities geographically identified by January 2024 so they can be approved at Town Meeting in May of next year.
Another notable announcement was the stepping down of committee member Barton Hyte. Hyte served as the liaison to the Planning Board. The committee will now have to select someone to take up Hyte’s role moving forward.
“I was sorry to hear that, but I know people get busy,” James said.