Chapter 40B Is Failing To Provide Affordable Housing
Chapter 40B is a state law in Massachusetts that was designed to encourage the development of affordable housing in communities where less than 10% of the housing stock is considered affordable. The law has been in place for over 50 years, but there are growing concerns that it is not achieving its goal of providing affordable housing and instead is leading to the creation of luxury housing.
One of the primary reasons why Chapter 40B is failing to provide affordable housing is due to the way the law is structured. Under Chapter 40B, developers can bypass certain local zoning regulations if they agree to set aside a certain percentage of the units in their development as affordable housing. However, the law does not provide any mechanisms to ensure that the affordable units are actually affordable to low-income residents.
As a result, many developers have taken advantage of the law to build high-end luxury housing, rather than affordable housing. In some cases, developers have included a small percentage of affordable units in their projects but have priced them so high that they are not truly affordable to low-income residents. This has led to concerns that Chapter 40B is being used as a way to circumvent local zoning regulations and build high-end housing in areas where it would not otherwise be allowed.
Another issue with Chapter 40B is that it has created a perverse incentive for developers to build luxury housing. Because developers can bypass certain zoning regulations by including a small percentage of affordable units in their projects, they are incentivized to build larger and more expensive units in order to maximize profits. This has led to a situation where affordable units are often the smallest and least desirable units in a development, making it difficult for low-income residents to access them.
Finally, Chapter 40B has also led to concerns about the impact on the environment and local infrastructure. The law has led to an influx of development in areas that may not be able to support it, leading to concerns about increased traffic, strain on water and sewage systems, and other negative impacts on the community.
While Chapter 40B was designed with the best of intentions, it has not succeeded in providing affordable housing in Massachusetts. Instead, the law has created a perverse incentive for developers to build luxury housing and has led to concerns about the impact on the environment and local infrastructure. In order to address the affordable housing crisis in the state, it may be necessary to reevaluate the law and implement new policies that provide more effective mechanisms to ensure that affordable housing is truly affordable to low-income residents.
Some developers are using Chapter 40B as a weapon to hold communities hostage, contrary to its intended purpose of the law.
The proposed Rice Pond Village project, consisting of 192-apartments under the Chapter 40B Local Initiative Program (LIP), only includes the "minimum" number of affordable units as proposed by Rice Pond Village, LLC, whose developers are Steven F. Venincasa and James Venincasa. This suggests that the developers' primary motivation is to maximize their profits, rather than to provide affordable housing.
To summarize, the Millbury Planning Board rejected a 46-condominium unit development plan on February 14, 2022 due to concerns regarding public safety and non-compliance with local zoning regulations. However, Steven F. Venincasa is now using Chapter 40B as a means of retaliation, proposing an even larger development project and disregarding public safety in his plans. The Millbury Board of Selectmen Mary Krumsiek and David Delaney and Town Manager Sean Hendricks conceded almost everything substantive to the developers in so-called negotiations, which town officials have stated on the record were anything but negotiations. The Millbury Planning Board made the right decision and the developer stated that he doesn’t want to have to go before them again. The proposed project, if approved, could impose a significant burden on the town's operating expenses, making it unlikely that the tax revenue promised to the Millbury Board of Selectmen would be realized. This suggests that the Board of Selectmen made a short-sighted decision to prioritize tax revenue over the long-term interests of the town.