MetroWest Towns Struggle To Meet 40B Threshold
About a year ago Natick Town Planner Patrick Reffett said he felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.
The town, after years of planning, finally had at least 10 percent of its housing stock classified as “affordable,” as defined by the state’s Chapter 40B law.
If a community has less than 10 percent of its housing deemed “affordable,” municipal planners can lose some control in crafting how affordable housing developments are built. Developers who do not receive local approval for projects can appeal to the state to supersede local dissent.
“I feel like we’ve attained something that’s a rare threshold for communities,” Reffett said. “We’re proud of it. We worked hard to get here.”
Game Of Percentages
But not many communities in MetroWest have been able to get to the 10 percent level. According to the state’s Department of Housing and Economic Development’s sustainable housing inventory list, as of last month only five out of 40 communities in the MetroWest/495 corridor had more than 10 percent housing classified as affordable.
Larger communities are the most likely to be compliant with the law. Natick, Framingham, Marlborough, Franklin and Hudson are the only communities in the area above 10 percent. Another six communities were within 2 percentage points.
But 14 communities have less than 5 percent of their housing stock classified as affordable and three communities are below 1 percent. On average, communities in the region have about 6 percent affordable housing.
The state defines affordable homes as those reserved for families who make less than 80 percent of the median household income for the area. Affordable homes are normally priced at about 70 percent of the market rate for a comparable home, according to the Boston-based Citizens Housing and Planning Association, a nonprofit that advocates for housing issues across the state.
Phil Hailer, director of communications for the state Department of Housing and Community Development, said the goal of 40B is to encourage more affordable housing options for state residents.
And he said it’s working.
In 1999 only about two dozen communities in the state complied with the law. Now, it’s up to 51.
“We’ve seen a lot more communities get across the goal line,” he said.
Almost 40 other communities are within two percentage points statewide of the 10 percent goal.
Chelmsford has about 7.5 percent of its housing classified as affordable.
“Certainly being under the 10 percent mark is a legitimate concern for a community,” said community development director Evan Belansky.
He said being under 10 percent can be risky because a developer can appeal to the state to allow a project to proceed even if the local boards disapprove of the project.
Developers, however, see the law as a positive way to streamline the permitting process and encourage affordable housing developments, not as a way to skirt local control.
Josh Katzen is a Newton developer who a few years ago built the Cloverleaf Apartments, a $40 million, 183-unit complex that had 25 percent affordable units across from the Natick Collection and just North of Route 9.
Last year he secured approval for another project on Chrysler Road, which is directly adjacent to the Cloverleaf development. The Chrysler Road project helped the town surpass the 10 percent mark. It is a 407-unit, two-building complex. Katzen said the project would not have been approved if it were not for 40B.
“Under the current zoning in town, the project could not have happened,” he said. “We needed 40B to allow the town to approve the height and density of the 10-story building.”
But Katzen said he didn’t target Natick because it was below the 10 percent mark. Instead, he saw it as a place where he could make a sound investment.
“It’s more about the economics of the project then how much affordable housing is there,” he said.
The Chrysler Road project is permitted, but construction has not yet begun. Katzen is hoping to finalize financing for the project soon.
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