MBTA Communities Law

Introduction and Background

Wrentham will conduct a Special Town Meeting (STM) on December 16 to vote on a proposed zoning bylaw designed to comply with the MBTA Communities Zoning Law. The Special Town meeting will be held in the auditorium at King Philip Regional High School and will begin at 7 p.m. As of this writing, the proposed zoning bylaw is the only article on the warrant.

The MBTA Communities Zoning Law applies to 177 cities and towns in the Greater Boston area that have or are near MBTA transit stations. For the purposes of the law, Wrentham is considered an MBTA community.

Source: Multi-Family Zoning Requirement for MBTA Communities

The law requires that each MBTA Community establish a zoning district where multi-family housing is permitted as-of-right. “As-of-right” means development that may proceed under a zoning by-law without the need for a special permit, variance, zoning amendment, wavier, or other discretionary zoning approval. Site plan review remains in force which may regulate matters such as vehicular access and circulation on a site, architectural design of a building, and screening of adjacent properties.

Wrentham is classified as an “Adjacent Community”, as it does not host a commuter rail station within its borders but abuts communities that do (Franklin, Norfolk and Foxborough). As such, the multi-family district must have the following characteristics:

It must be a minimum of 50 acres, half of which must be contiguous land;
Multi-family dwellings must be allowed at a minimum gross density of 15 units/acre;
The units must be suitable for families with children and no age restrictions;
The district should be near an existing downtown, village center, or area of underutilized/abandoned structures with redevelopment potential.

Considerations

MBTA communities have until December 31, 2024, to make appropriate zoning changes. The Wrentham Planning Board has been developing zoning recommendations to comply with the law. It is currently finalizing the proposed changes that have undergone a public hearing process.

For the STM, the decision will be made by a simple majority of voters present and voting. Under the amended MGL Chapter 40 A, Section 5 of the Zoning Act, a zoning ordinance or bylaw can be enacted by a simple majority vote, rather than the two-thirds supermajority that applies to other zoning amendments, if that ordinance or bylaw “Allows for multi-family housing or mixed-use developments “as-of-right” in an eligible location.”

The proposed multi-family overlay district zoning bylaw will be presented as an Overlay District. This means that the current underlying zoning of the proposed parcels does not change.

Compliance of the law, achieved by a majority of STM members voting for the proposed multi-family overlay district zoning bylaw creates the potential capacity for 750 dwelling units (this number is based on the 2020 Census, specifically 10% of our year-round housing units). There is no requirement that any of these units be built, just that local zoning allows it.

Non-compliance of the law, achieved by a majority STM members voting against the proposed multi-family overlay district zoning bylaw makes Wrentham ineligible for a number of state grants and funding programs including, but not limited to MassWorks, the new HousingWorks Infrastructure Program, the Local Capital Projects Fund, Community Planning Grants and Housing Choice, among others. There is also the possibility that Wrentham would become vulnerable to civil enforcement action by the State. The Attorney General’s Office issued a statement which clarifies “Communities that fail to comply with the Law’s requirements also risk liability under federal and state fair housing laws.”

Information Opportunities and Resources

WE considers this vote to be complex and have far-reaching implications. Voters should endeavor to have as much information as possible prior to attending the STM.

Resources

Special Town Meeting Town Warrant

The Wrentham Planning Board’s webpage

The Planning Board's page is hosted by the Town of Wrentham. Note that this page includes a full listing of all the public hearings, subcommittee meetings, and joint meeting recordings, PowerPoint presentations, and other supporting documentation the Board has utilized in development of the proposed bylaw.

Final Draft - MBTA Multi-Family Overlay District (MCMOD) Zoning Bylaw

Town of Wrentham Forum

This discussion featured a panel of elected and appointed Town officials.

Wrentham Engagement Focus Group Discussion

Wrentham Engagement coordinated the Focus Group Discussion and is an independent group of engaged voters and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Town of Wrentham.

Multi-Family Zoning Requirement for MBTA Communities (MassGov website)

This page includes Compliance Guidelines on new Section 3A of MGL c. 40A and related materials.

Events

Town of Wrentham officials conducted a forum to discuss the state’s MBTA Communities Multi-Family Zoning Requirements and asked residents to submit questions by November 7.

This discussion featured a panel of elected and appointed Town officials: Select Board members Chris Gallo and Michelle Rouse, Planning Board Chair Michael McKnight, Finance Director Mike King, and Town Manager Kevin Sweet.

The forum was recorded on Nov. 13 and is available on Wrentham Cable 8 Community Access (Town of Wrentham Forum) and the Town website and social media channels. Additional information is available on the Town's News Portal.

Wrentham Engagement (WE) conducted an MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District Zoning Bylaw Focus Group Discussion on Thursday, December 5, in the Sweatt Room at Fiske Public Library at 7 p.m.

The Focus Group Discussion was recorded by Cable 8 Community Access (Wrentham Engagement Focus Group Discussion) and can be viewed on Cable 8 and WE's social media.

The Focus Group Discussion is not a presentation and to the greatest extent possible we do not intend to ask for questions. Rather, as is the role of a focus group, we intend to ask attendees questions related to their awareness and understanding of how well informed they believe they are 10 days before the STM.

In doing this, we hope to gain insight into perceptions, gauge the knowledge level and understanding, and bring to light any information gaps or misconceptions that town officials can then be prepared to respond to prior to or at the STM.

WE will not be advocating a position and will endeavor to make the questions as balanced as possible. We highly encourage attendees to watch the Information Session conducted by the Select Board and the Planning Board and currently running on Cable 8 before attending the Focus Group Discussion. The Info Session: https://bit.ly/WrenthamInfoSession

The final draft of the proposed MBTA Multi-Family Overlay District (MCMOD) zoning bylaw can be found on the Town website: https://bit.ly/MBTAZoningBylawDraft

One final ground rule we will establish is a hard stop not later than 8:15 p.m. in order to keep the focus group focused.

All voters are also invited to join the WE email list for notifications about Town Meetings and local elections: Sign-up.

A sample of the questions we intend to ask follows:

How much do you believe that you know/understand about the MBTA Law (little, some or a lot); How much do you know about the process Wrentham has gone through; Have you seen the 13 Nov Cable 8 presentation?
Do you agree or disagree with the intent and implications of the Law as a means to improve housing availability? Do you think it is a viable way to improve housing availability; state-wide? For Wrentham?
Many of the opponents of the law state that the law overrides the towns’ ability to plan and govern itself, and that this is a slippery slope towards chipping away at home-rule. Do you agree or disagree? Is this a concern?
What do you believe are the benefits and opportunities for voting “yes”? What are the risks and challenges of voting yes?
What are the benefits and opportunities for voting “no”? What are the risks and challenges of voting no?
Are you decided or undecided at this point (do not intend to ask which way they are voting)? If undecided, what do you still need to know to vote at the STM?

Wrentham Engagement is coordinating the Focus Group Discussion and is an independent group of engaged voters and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Town of Wrentham.