Zoning overhaul pitched as housing cure
Zoning and permitting reform advocates on Tuesday resumed their uphill fight to make the first major overhaul to the state's zoning and subdivision laws since the 1970s.
"We are managing, at the same time, to produce fewer homes than our residents want, at a higher cost than many can afford, making it harder to attract employers, forcing municipalities to spend on unsustainable infrastructure, not producing enough of the walkable neighborhoods that make our communities healthy, consuming too much forest and farmland, and putting too much greenhouse gas into the air. That is quite a feat," the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance wrote in testimony to the Community Development and Small Business Committee.
Proponents of the bill in recent years have been unable to propel it to the top tier issues that consume the time and attention of governors and legislative leaders. This year, advocates say they're encouraged that the bill (S 122) is being pushed in the Senate by Sen. Dan Wolf, who chairs the Senate Steering and Policy Committee, and in the House by Ways and Means Committee Vice-chair Rep. Stephen Kulik. Fifty-seven more lawmakers are signed on as cosponsors.
According to the alliance, the bill would "bring Massachusetts more in line with the zoning and permitting rules of our competitor states," which have been more effective at building affordable housing, by, among other things, imposing impact fees on developers, and extending the duration of permits, and establishing housing development districts to promote walkable, mixed use neighborhoods.
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