Senate to consider zoning reform legislation

The Senate is looking at a major piece of zoning reform legislation that addresses issues such as master planning, impact fees, special permits, site plan review, vested rights, and inclusionary zoning.
 
Advocates assert that Massachusetts zoning law, last updated in the 1970s, is in desperate need of overhaul in order for the state to face both long-standing and emerging land-use challenges.
 
The 62-page bill, S. 2144, now before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, would change current state rules regarding variances, which are currently issued very rarely. It would also set out statutory requirements for development impact fees, which are infrequently used because they’re not mentioned in state statute.
 
The bill, filed by Sen. Daniel Wolf of Barnstable, would make changes to the way that local governments vote on local zoning changes. It would allow cities and towns to lower the threshold for changing a zoning bylaw from a two-thirds majority to a simple majority, though it would require a two-thirds majority vote to accept this threshold change.
 
In addition to zoning and planning laws, the bill would create a new law, Chapter 40Y, aimed at promoting “smart growth” in Massachusetts. The new opt-in program would reward communities for enacting certain changes such as establishing by-right housing development districts, allowing new developments at higher densities, establishing economic development districts, and promoting low-impact development techniques for developments over one acre. Communities choosing to opt-in would gain enhanced use of development impact fees, reduction of vested rights periods for subdivisions (from eight years to five), and preference for state discretionary funds and grants for water and sewer infrastructure and school buildings, among others. Communities would also be rewarded for enacting master plans approved by local area planning commissions.
 
The bill would make changes to “approval not required” (ANR) sections in zoning law, including presumption language on travel lane widths, and would require that local boards of health be notified of impending zoning hearings. It would also allow consolidated permitting, intended to make the permitting process shorter and more efficient.
 
The MMA is working with the Senate and the Smart Growth Alliance coalition to ensure that the bill reflects the views and priorities of cities and towns. The MMA’s Policy Committee on Municipal and Regional Administration has been working on the bill for some time and established a Zoning Subcommittee to examine the bill thoroughly. The MMA has opposed previous zoning reform measures and is still working with the parties involved to address problematic sections of the bill, especially the issue of preemption.
 
The text of the bill can be found at https://malegislature.gov/Bills/189/Senate/S2144.