JEFF RHUDA
Remains ‘open-minded’
Gov. Mitt Romney temporarily halted any efforts to abolish or gut the state’s anti-snob zoning law when he recently appointed a diverse group of influential officials to study the statute and come up with recommendations. The committee has 13 weeks to report back to the governor.
But even members of the committee acknowledge that the road ahead will be a bumpy one. The committee is facing a battle that has been played out for three decades between critics who argue that the law has been abused, allowing developers to build large and dense housing developments that cause fiscal and environmental burdens for communities, and supporters who say it is the state’s only noteworthy vehicle for promoting production of more affordable housing.
“I think that the main challenge the commission really faces is to find a reasonable middle ground that takes into account both housing needs and concerns about municipal growth and development,” said Marc Draisen, a task force member and executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a regional planning agency. “Certainly in my position as director of MAPC, I need to be concerned about both of those issues because we have a tremendous unmet need for affordable housing, but I also speak with municipal officials on a daily basis who are concerned about growth issues.”
Draisen’s comments were echoed by several other officials who are part of the 24-member commission. The group must have a report prepared for Romney by May 30. Until then, lawmakers have agreed to hold off on the nearly 70 bills that have been filed regarding Chapter 40B, the state’s anti-snob zoning law.
The measure has generated great controversy because it allows developers to go through an expedited permitting process and practically bypass local zoning regulations in communities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is affordable. In exchange, at least 25 percent of the units within the housing development being proposed must be affordable to those earning at or below 80 percent of the area’s median income.
The law has been revised throughout the years, including regulatory changes that were made by the Department of Housing and Community Development last year. Some supporters argue that those changes addressed many of the concerns expressed by local officials, but some lawmakers weren’t satisfied and filed a flurry of other bills.
The commission appointed last month to scrutinize the law includes both vocal critics and defenders of the law, including state representatives who have supported legislation to weaken Chapter 40B. Two members of the task force, Reps. Harriett L. Stanley, D-West Newbury, and Michael J. Coppola, R-Foxboro, were part of a team of legislators who wrote to DHCD last October complaining that the regulatory changes didn’t go far enough to curb Chapter 40B abuse and fix the mechanics of the law.
Draisen and most of the other task force members interviewed by Banker & Tradesman last week said they plan to be open-minded when it comes to discussing Chapter 40B. However, when questioned about the hurdles that await, most agreed that it will be tough to reach a complete consensus given the controversial nature of the measure and the size and diverse make-up of the task force.
“I can’t imagine with 24 people that you’re going to reach a complete consensus, but I know that I’m open-minded,” said Jeff Rhuda, a developer with Symes Assoc. in Beverly.
Rhuda has collected statistics that he would like to share with the committee, including U.S. Census information citing the number of building permits issued in the Bay State throughout the years. According to those statistics, permitting plunged 12 percent in the last five years. Some 16,875 permits were issued through December of last year compared to 19,254 permits in 1998. The Bay State provided less than 1 percent, or 0.98 percent, of the country’s housing permits last year.
“We’re [homebuilders and developers] obviously very pro-housing. Our feeling is that [Chapter] 40B is not the disease; it is the symptom of the disease. The actual disease is the shrinking supply of housing in the state of Massachusetts,” said Rhuda.
While some of the concerns about Chapter 40B are legitimate, there are too many different regulations that are hurting housing production in this state, according to Rhuda. As an example, Rhuda pointed out that more than 70 communities have written wetlands regulations into their zoning laws, making it tougher for housing projects to be approved, and over 60 towns have annual building permit caps.
“Those communities have unknowingly created an OPEC-like organization by restricting the supply of housing through regulation,” said Rhuda, referring to an international organization of 11 developing countries that makes decisions which drive oil production and costs. “What we are doing as a state for the production of housing we’re failing at miserably, and our price level speaks volumes to that.”
Several committee members said the group will be effective because of its strong membership, including the task force chairwoman, DHCD Director Jane Wallis Gumble. William McLaughlin, regional vice president of development for AvalonBay Communities, praised Gumble, saying that under her leadership the group would surely be productive.
“My personal experience with large controversial issues debated in big groups is that the definition of a good compromise is that no one is 100 percent happy,” said McLaughlin. “This group is amazingly powerful … This a fabulous group of folks, and with that kind of horsepower in the group, I’m expecting to be pleasantly surprised.”
As a committee member, McLaughlin is interested in preserving the “integrity of the statute.” However, McLaughlin recognizes that there are some changes that must be made. For one, the appeals process can be improved, he said.
McLaughlin’s company has built several housing developments throughout the state under Chapter 40B, including Avalon Orchards in Marlborough. The company has been flexible and reached compromises with many towns as it developed these housing projects, according to McLaughlin.
“We’ve had great success as a company working within the parameters of [Chapter] 40B,” said McLaughlin, who also serves as the president of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board’s Rental Housing Association. “I think the key to our success has been our ability to respect the law in the first place.”
‘Emotional Issue’
As of last Friday, the task force had not met yet. A DHCD spokeswoman said that Wallis Gumble was trying to schedule the first meeting for the end of this week and was hoping to meet at least every other week prior to the deadline.
The task force is likely to examine the bills that have been filed as a package, said DHCD spokeswoman Beth Bresnahan. She said it is unclear whether the committee will be split into working groups and in what form the recommendations would come.
“The result of the first meeting will set the tone for any obstacle that should be met,” she said.
Last week, task force member Gwen Pelletier was spending time gathering information on the recent changes to Chapter 40B. As the director of the Lower Cape Cod Community Development Corp., Pelletier has been a Chapter 40B supporter. The CDC she works for has developed small rental housing projects in Eastham and Wellfleet using the comprehensive permitting process that is part of Chapter 40B.
“I want to listen and be a participant without any preconceived ideas aside from the fact that it [the law] should be saved in some form,” said Pelletier. “I really do want to go in with an open mind. I know there are strong feeling in every direction and it’s going to be a challenge.”
Another member of the committee, Rep. Kevin G. Honan, D-Brighton, said he is eager to hear what community leaders have to say. “Obviously it’s a very emotional issue, but there’s a shortage of affordable housing and we need to work toward providing more affordable housing in this state,” said Honan, who was recently appointed chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Housing and Urban Development Committee.
One community leader Honan may want to talk with is Al Lima, the planning director in Marlborough. The city of Marlborough has seen the arrival of several housing developments under Chapter 40B, including 274 rental units that were recently completed by AvalonBay and a 156-unit development that is currently under construction. A 360-unit project has also been proposed in that community under the anti-snob zoning law.
Currently, about 8 percent of Marlborough’s housing stock is considered affordable, according to Lima, who is also member of the task force.
“The key challenge is arriving at mutually agreeable strategies to make [Chapter] 40B acceptable to local communities while lessening the impacts to the communities,” said Lima. “If we can come up with some strategies to minimize the impacts of Chapter 40B that would answer some of the more pointed criticism of 40B at the local level.”
Aglaia Pikounis may be reached at apikounis@thewarrengroup.com.
