Zoning reform bill a mixed bag for realtors, developers
Sam Bonacci
The zoning reform bill could benefit and constrain construction.
With a group of real estate industry organizations lining up in opposition to the comprehensive zoning reform bill expected to be debated next week in the Senate, the bill's lead advocate said he is confident the bill has something for everyone.
"This is a really, really smart and balanced bill and I think there is enough in here that everyone who's been at the table liked that there will be good consensus that it is a balanced bill," Sen. Dan Wolf said. "It really modernizes zoning in Massachusetts to bring it up to where it is in most states around the country."
Wolf, who is not seeking re-election this fall after three terms on Beacon Hill representing Cape Cod and the islands, said he has been working to reform state zoning laws since his time as chair of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod.
There have been many "lessons learned" since the last rewrite of state zoning laws in the 1970s, Wolf said, and the bill seeks to use those to address housing challenges, suburban sprawl and open space issues, and the cost of infrastructure.
The bill (S 2144) attempts to rein in restrictive local zoning regulations and incentivize communities to plan for sustainable growth. It allows owners of single-family houses to build accessory apartments on their property without having to obtain special permits and would require municipal zoning ordinances and bylaws to provide at least one district in which the development of multi-family housing would be allowed without special permits.
The bill also extends the duration of special permits from a maximum of two years to a minimum of three years to give developers more flexibility.
Responding to an earlier version of the bill that has since been slightly modified, the commercial property development association NAIOP, the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts -- together calling themselves the Real Estate Coalition -- wrote that the group cannot support the bill, despite liking some of its provisions.
"While the Real Estate Coalition acknowledges and appreciates that important changes have been made to the bill, at this time, it cannot support the legislation given the impact the negative provisions ... would have on development in Massachusetts," the coalition wrote. An official with the coalition said the modifications made to the bill since they first read it would not impact their overall opposition.
The coalition, in its memo, said it cannot support provisions of the bill that would create an opt-in program for municipalities to obtain "certified community" status and become entitled to certain "privileges and powers," saying such a program is "poorly defined and ill-conceived" and would be "unduly bureaucratic."
The group also opposes the idea of allowing municipalities to change the voting requirements for the adoption of zoning bylaws, ordinances or amendments, warning that it could "allow municipalities to more easily adopt anti-growth zoning amendments to the detriment of property owners."
Wolf said the coalition's support for some parts of the bill and its opposition to others is likely emblematic of where his colleagues stand on the bill. Some legislators would say zoning reform is needed to streamline and make more predictable the development process, and others would say it is needed to address environmental and smart growth issues, Wolf said, but almost all would agree zoning reform is necessary.
"A bill this complicated and this balanced will never have universal approval on every aspect," he said. "Something this complicated and this comprehensive can't please everyone 100 percent, but there is a lot of good stuff in here for all concerns."
Among those who have expressed full support for the bill is the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the regional planning agency for 101 cities and towns in Greater Boston.
"This bill really bring us into the 21st century," MAPC Executive Director Marc Draisen said in a statement. "It will make it easier for municipalities to plan for their futures, and then to implement the plans they adopt. It will help developers to get a 'yes' or a 'no' more quickly, and it will help us to build the housing we desperately need for young people, families with children, and seniors."
Sen. Kathleen O'Connor Ives, whose Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses reviewed the bill this session, said in a statement, "We can all appreciate that Massachusetts' zoning laws are largely outdated. I appreciate the important role zoning plays in driving housing production, transportation outcomes, as well as land use decisions state-wide, and as such, zoning reform merits our attention."
Though only two months remain until the end of the legislative session and legislative leaders are already deeply engaged in work on other major bills, Wolf said he is hopeful there is enough time left in this session for the complex bill to clear both branches.
"It's a very technical bill, so on one hand that is a challenge, but on the other hand the House really looked at this last session so there's nothing the House hasn't seen," he said. "I hope they'll understand that after 40-some years there is a sense of urgency here."
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