Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Secretary Juana B. Matias
Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
100 Cambridge St., Suite 300
Boston, MA 02114
Delivered electronically
RE: 760 CMR 77.00 Surplus Real Property Draft Regulations
Dear Secretary Matias,
The Massachusetts Municipal Association provides the following comments on the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities’s filed 760 CMR 77.00 Surplus Real Property Draft Regulations (Draft Regulations). Following these comments is a redlined version of the Draft Regulations for greater clarity and context.
We understand the interest and imperative to accelerate residential development on surplus land. However, the proposed Draft Regulations significantly exceed the statutory authority granted by Section 122 of the Affordable Homes Act. By limiting a municipality’s capacity to enforce local bylaws, the regulations do not simply “streamline” development, they effectively bypass essential municipal oversight.
Of particular concern is 77.04 (3), which effectively prevents municipalities from enforcing local bylaws that exceed state standards. This creates an uneven playing field, where state-backed developments are exempt from the very safeguards a community has democratically enacted, preventing enforcement of local regulations aimed to protect critical local resources. Local officials put strict standards in place because they have a deep understanding of the unique ecological nature and infrastructure needs of their community, often using updated data to manage modern risks. For example, allowing a state-backed project to bypass local stormwater and erosion control ordinances could have long-term environmental hazards for which the municipality, not the Commonwealth, would be liable.
Creating a framework for developing surplus land into housing is an important task. We would suggest revising these Draft Regulations to allow common-sense municipal bylaws to interact in conjunction with them, rather than preempt them.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to have your office contact me or MMA Legislative and Policy Counsel Ali DiMatteo, at [email protected] at any time.
We are grateful for your support of local government in the Commonwealth and deeply appreciate your consideration of the municipal perspective on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Adam Chapdelaine
MMA Executive Director and CEO