MBTA Communities Law requires multifamily zoning in town or we lose state grants

From the Charles River Chamber Regional Chamber enewsletter today –

At issue is that new zoning reform law — the MBTA Communities Law – that’s designed to chip away at two urgent problems: Our housing crisis and our climate crisis.

As I wrote yesterday, the new law doesn’t mandate new housing. It changes zoning codes to allow property owners to build small multi-unit homes if they choose — a process that could take years, or decades, if ever.

We’re not talking about massive apartment towers. The law is designed to encourage more townhouses, triple-deckers and carriage houses near T-stops — instead of McMansions.

Failure to rezone would make a community ineligible for certain state grants, according to draft regulations.

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See also the white paper done by the Boston Foundation on this legislation.