MBTA Communities Show Your Support Toolkit

The MBTA Communities Law, adopted in 2021, established a multifamily zoning requirement for the 177 communities in Massachusetts that are located in the MBTA service district. While the type of transit service may vary in these municipalities, all are in close enough proximity that they benefit from nearby transit amenities.

Section 3A requires that municipalities adopt zoning regulations that allow multifamily developments close to transit or in other walkable “smart growth” locations by right (not requiring a special permit or other discretionary approval process). The law allows flexibility for local regulations that will best fit their local context. Housing that may be built under new multifamily zoning can have either a rental or ownership tenure and can vary in size from duplexes to townhomes to larger apartment buildings, as long as the average gross density pencils out to at least 15 units per acre.

The state has set deadlines for communities to develop and adopt their updated zoning regulations. Find the deadline for your community.

HELPFUL RESOURCES

• “What is the MBTA Communities Law?” (2023) – A one-page PDF flyer that provides an overview of the MBTA Communities Law, prepared by Abundant Housing Massachusetts.
• “MBTA Glossary of Terms” – A PDF glossary dedicated to terms specific to the MBTA Communities Law, prepared by Abundant Housing Massachusetts.
• “More Than Compliance: Multifamily Districts That Work in Your Community” (2022) – This webinar series hosted by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) is part of their Complete Neighborhoods Initiative, which is supporting the state’s efforts to build more multifamily housing near transit, downtowns, jobs, and services. The series looks at various parts of the compliance process for MBTA Communities and talks about how municipalities can think bigger to create developments that address broader community's needs, like better transit, climate, and equity.
• “MBTA Communities Multifamily Zoning Requirement (Section 3A)” – A page on MAPC’s website that serves as a resource for local leaders, municipal staff, and members of the public looking to understand Section 3A, learn how communities in the MAPC region are preparing for compliance, access digital tools that can encourage smart planning decisions, and find opportunities for technical assistance. The page includes a comprehensive FAQ section about Section 3A.

There are a number of misconceptions about what the MBTA Communities Law is and what its impact on municipalities will be. Here we respond to some of the common myths that the public might raise about Section 3A.  

The state is requiring us to build all this housing. 

The MBTA Communities Law doesn’t require the production of any units. It simply requires zoning that allows property owners the option to construct multifamily housing without discretionary permits. The zoning can also be in areas that are already developed; it does not need to be located on vacant lots. 

We value the small-town character of our community. The state wants to turn us into Boston. 

The required density of Section 3A-compliant zoning districts is 15 units per acre. This density doesn’t mean high-rises will be built. In many places, this density can be achieved by allowing for a maximum height of only two or three stories. If you live in a community with a historic downtown, it is likely that the densities of the historic buildings are even higher than 15 units per acre. 

If multifamily housing is allowed by-right, our municipality won’t have any say about the look and layout of the new development. 

Just because the MBTA Communities Law won’t allow for discretionary approval processes like special permits, it doesn’t mean that that the municipality will have no say about the new development. Site plan review, a process by which a local board reviews and imposes conditions on the appearance and layout of a specific project prior to the issuance of a building permit, can still be required for multifamily housing. Site plan approval criteria typically cover matters such as vehicular access and circulation on a site or screening of adjacent properties. 

The MBTA Communities Law is just a giveaway to make developers rich. 

Because of land, labor, and material costs, it is incredibly expensive to build housing in Massachusetts. In the region, total development costs range from $350k to $550k per unit, depending on the community. When costs are too high, housing simply doesn’t get built, which is a major reason for the housing shortage in the state. Like in any businesses, developers need to make a profit so they can invest in their next project. A certain density is usually necessary to make development feasible because the costs can be spread out across multiple units. In addition, discretionary permits add to housing prices because of costly administrative expenses to manage the review process and potential legal action. Allowing more by right housing shortens the permitting timeline and allows construction to begin more quickly. 

Our schools are already overcrowded. New multifamily housing will cause our enrollment numbers to increase too much.  

MAPC has conducted substantial research on the relationship between new multifamily development and school enrollment numbers. Analyzing changes in housing units and school enrollment across 231 public school districts in Massachusetts from 2010 to 2020, MAPC found that the development of new housing units does not account for the changes in school enrollment seen over the decade. Instead, the analysis found that demographic trends, parental preferences, and the characteristics and affordability of available housing often play a much larger role than housing development in enrollment growth and decline. 

New development will cause too much traffic in our community. 

Section 3A-compliant districts are designed to be in areas served by public transit and/or located in walkable neighborhoods to reduce the number of car trips that are necessary for residents to get to work and access services and amenities. A municipality can also help mitigate increased traffic reducing parking requirements under the new zoning. Providing too much parking encourages multifamily housing residents to have a car that they might not otherwise need because it is easy to park it. Perfect Fit Parking research has found that, overall, off-street parking tends to be oversupplied. Further, traffic mitigation or transportation demand management techniques (such as developers providing an MBTA pass for tenants’ first month) can and should complement new multifamily zoning. 

We don’t have the water and sewer infrastructure for all this new development. 

Municipalities don’t need to spend money upgrading their water and sewer infrastructure in anticipation of new development associated with the MBTA Communities Law. When multifamily housing is proposed, the developer will need to make the case that there is adequate infrastructure to support their project. For example, they may choose to construct an on-site sewer treatment facility if there is no existing municipal capacity. Further, compliance with Section 3A allows municipalities to access MassWorks and HousingWorks, two state programs that provide substantial capital grants to help cities and towns fund public infrastructure projects that support and accelerate housing production. 

Multifamily housing will hurt my property value. 

Because of the high costs associated with building multifamily housing, developers are most likely going to produce market-rate housing units that are in attractive buildings with substantial amenities. Multifamily housing provides options for people with all incomes, including for local workers such as firefighters, teachers, and municipal employees (especially if the development includes affordable units). If this housing is replacing a former use such as an auto-repair shop or a package store, your property value will likely increase, not decrease. 

Our community needs housing that is affordable, not luxury housing units. 

Section 3A is important because it will encourage different types of housing, creating relatively more affordable housing options than single-family homes for young people, seniors, and families. However, even building luxury housing units helps to reduce housing prices across the board because it generates badly-needed supply. Basic economics tells us that costs continue to rise when there isn’t enough supply to meet demand, which is what we have been seeing in the Greater Boston area. Additionally, if your community has an inclusionary zoning ordinance, a certain percentage of new units must be deed-restricted to be affordable to lower-income families. 

Building new multifamily housing is bad for the environment. 

New construction buildings must meet higher energy saving requirements and therefore are more energy efficient than old buildings. They require less energy to heat and cool each housing unit than single-family houses do, and they further contribute to key climate goals by minimizing impervious surfaces and water usage per capita. Building compact multifamily units in smart growth locations means communities can meet multiple objectives of providing housing and preserving open spaces such as forests and agricultural lands. Encouraging housing where people can rely less on private vehicles and have options of using more sustainable ways to get around is also a key way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to our climate crisis. Lastly, local regulations around wetlands and stormwater management are still applicable to new development built under Section 3A-compliant zoning.  

It doesn’t matter if we don’t comply with the MBTA Communities Law. 

Not complying with Section 3A is against the law. Municipalities that don’t comply with the MBTA Communities Law will lose access to substantial grant funding that your city or town likely relies on to avoid local property tax increases. The Attorney General has also made clear that municipalities subject to Section 3A cannot opt to avoid compliance by foregoing their eligibility for state funding sources. Noncompliant municipalities also risk liability under federal and state fair housing laws. Finally, communities that don’t adopt a Section 3A-compliant district are missing the opportunity to encourage diverse housing options for their residents and encourage sustainable development. 

HELPFUL RESOURCES 

• “An Update on Housing Production’s Effect on Public School Enrollment” (2024) – An updated report by MAPC of "The Waning Influence Of Housing Production On Public School Enrollment," released in October 2017. The analysis looks at the relationship between multifamily housing development and school enrollment in municipalities across Massachusetts, finding no significant association between the two.
• “Perfect Fit Parking: Improving the Way Developers and Planners Assess Parking Demand” (2023) – A four-phase research study by MAPC that examined overnight residential parking data at hundreds of multifamily buildings in the Boston region. The research highlights how most communities in the Boston region have built more residential off-street parking than is needed or utilized, resulting in increased housing costs, congestion, and greenhouse gas emission. Over-building parking discourages more sustainable transportation options while taking up land that could instead be used for more housing units, open space, and other community-focused uses.
• “First American City to Tame Inflation Owes Its Success to Affordable Housing” (2023) – This article in Bloomberg explains how annual inflation fell below 2% in Minneapolis, the lowest of any region in the U.S., largely due to the City’s efforts to address rising housing costs by eliminating single-family zoning and investing hundreds of millions of dollars in rental assistance and subsidies. 
• “‘Alarming’: One in four young people plan to leave Greater Boston in the next five years, report finds” (2024) – This article in the Boston Globe cites a 2023 study commissioned by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation showing that about 25% of young adults surveyed are planning to leave the state, in part due to the high cost of housing.
• “Massachusetts Climate Report Card: Transportation Decarbonization” (2023) – This report card by the Massachusetts Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience assesses the Commonwealth’s progress in meeting its climate mandates. It discusses the challenges as well as the ongoing initiatives and new policies by the Healey-Driscoll Administration is pursuing to make sure that the state meets its climate goals and emissions reductions.
• “The State of Zoning for Multi-Family Housing In Greater Boston” (2019) – A report by researcher Amy Dain and commissioned by the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance that provides a systematic assessment of the state of zoning for multifamily housing in 100 cities and towns of Greater Boston to inform efforts at reforming the regulatory system.

It is likely that your community has undertaken planning and zoning efforts in the past that had recommendations which overlap with the goals of the MBTA Communities Law. Examples include:

• A Housing Production Plan identifying the need for new and diverse housing types to serve residents of the community (such as young professionals, families with children, or seniors) and locations for potential new development
• A Comprehensive Plan identifying key areas for growth in the municipality that can meet multiple community priorities, such as creating additional housing options, promoting economic development, or preserving undeveloped land
• A Climate Action Plan identifying the need for housing in walkable, transit-accessible areas to limit the use of single-occupancy vehicles and decrease carbon emissions
• A Downtown Plan identifying the need for zoning changes that allow for the same scale of existing historic buildings in a downtown area

It is important to highlight past efforts to show stakeholders in your community that the work to comply with Section 3A is not happening in a vacuum. Participants in these different projects may also support the goals of the MBTA Communities Law and having interest in joining an advisory group or speaking in support of the law at public hearings and Town Meeting.

Gross density is calculated by adding together the number of multifamily units that could theoretically be built on every parcel in a Section 3A-compliant zoning district(s) and then divided by the total acreage of the district. The total “gross” acreage includes both buildable parcels and unbuildable areas like roads or recreation lands. Subdistricts of lower densities are allowed as long as they are counterbalanced by subdistricts with higher densities so that the average gross density is at least 15 units per acre.

At the parcel level, the look of 15 units per acre will vary based on the parcel size. It could mean a two-family home on a 5,000 square foot parcel or a 45-unit building on a three-acre parcel. The following visualizations show what 15 units per acre looks like on sites of different scales.

Helpful Resources

• “Solving the MBTA Communities zoning puzzle” (2023) – This article by researcher Amy Dain goes into detail about what a gross density of 15 units/acre means for MBTA Communities.
• Residensity (2023) – An interactive web tool produced by MHP that allows users to explore and analyze existing housing unit counts and residential density for any location in Massachusetts.
• “Exploring Housing at Different Densities” (2022) – A web tool produced by the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) and MHP that introduces the concept of “units per acre,” provides a tour of high-quality housing developments in MBTA Communities, and illustrates the features of a great development. 

By allowing denser multifamily housing near transit stops, we can create new housing in vibrant, walkable neighborhoods. This is not just a good housing policy; it is also a good transportation and climate policy. 

1 | Transit-oriented development results in more housing closer to the places that we go every day, such as local shops, jobs, schools, restaurants, parks, and more.

Denser neighborhoods around transit can help support existing local businesses and attract new businesses such as restaurants, movie theaters, hardware stores, pharmacies, and grocery stores. This creates more vibrant and active neighborhoods for people to enjoy without having to travel far. People who do not drive, such as seniors, kids, and people with disabilities can access resources more easily.

More walkable neighborhoods can also ensure that money is spent locally in our communities. Instead of traveling far for the amenities we seek, we can have access closer to home and reinvest our money back into our neighborhoods.

2 | Transit-oriented development provides better access to work, services, and other destinations by increasing mobility and utilization of public transit.

By building more housing closer to transit stops, it encourages people to use public transportation for their daily commutes to work. When people have convenient access to reliable public transportation options, it reduces the roadway traffic associated with single-occupancy vehicles. The Boston region has a strong public transportation network that hundreds of thousands of people use every day. Increasing ridership helps to pay for the system, and also incentivizes the state and federal government to provide funding to maximize transit infrastructure improvements.

With more density around transit, people can also gain more connectivity to other communities and destinations. They can reach other destinations for things like doctor’s appointments, shopping, and attending social events more easily and this further removes non-essential vehicle traffic off the roads.

3 | Transit-oriented development leads to a reduced reliance on single occupancy vehicles, which helps in our larger effort to confront the climate crisis.

By creating communities that are less auto-dependent, people can have greater freedom of mobility. This is not just beneficial to older people, youth, people with disabilities, and others who do not drive or have access to a car; this is beneficial to everyone. Reducing our dependence on cars is a simple way we can make a big impact on greenhouse gas reduction.  This does not mean that all of our trips can be replaced with public transportation, but it does mean that many trips can be. With fewer cars on the road, we can enjoy less pollution in our air, soil, and waterways and help mitigate climate change through fewer emissions.

HELPFUL RESOURCES

• “Why MBTA Multifamily Zoning Law Makes Sense for Massachusetts” (2023) – This short, introductory video by MHP about how the MBTA Communities Law will help cities and towns zone for more housing near transit, increase economic opportunity, reduce sprawl and lessen impacts on the environment.
• “Smart Growth” (2024) – A comprehensive inventory by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that explains and provides examples of what smart growth is, offers opportunities for technical assistance, and includes a variety of useful resources, including publications, tools, videos, and more.