Impacts on SHI With The MBTA Communities Act
Chapter 40B, also known as the Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Law, was enacted in 1969. It was designed to address the shortage of affordable housing in the state by allowing developers to bypass certain local zoning restrictions if at least 20-25% of the units in a proposed development are affordable to low- and moderate-income households.
The MBTA Communities Act is widely criticized for its negative impact on a community's Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI), compelling the construction of additional housing to meet the Chapter 40B requirement of having 10% of housing units designated as affordable. As of the most recent publication of SHI percentages, only 20% of communities statewide have met or exceeded the 10% target for Safe Harbor compliance with Chapter 40B, despite the law being in effect for approximately 56 years. This is what happens when the state legislature enacts unfunded mandates which is what Chapter 40B and the MBTA Communities Act are despite what the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and officials from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) are portraying to intentionally mislead the public.
Outlined below are the impacts based on the current SHI percentage, including the addition of the mandatory minimum units required under the MBTA Communities Act without affordable units, the optional maximum of 10% affordable units, and the additional housing units needed beyond the statutory minimums to meet both the MBTA Communities Act housing mandate and the 10% affordable housing threshold required by Chapter 40B. The following numbers exclude any Chapter 40B or other projects currently underway or planned for future development. It’s important to note that each new housing unit added reduces the SHI percentage, so compliance is a constantly moving target.
Building more housing units that fail to address true housing affordability—an inherently complex issue—only exacerbates the problem, driving up rent and mortgage costs instead of making housing more affordable. Anyone who claims otherwise is merely creating a smokescreen to allow developers to profit from this so-called housing crisis.
| Community | SHI | c. 40A §3A No Affordable Units (Reduction In SHI) |
c. 40A §3A With 10% Affordable Unit |
Additional Affordable Units To Attain 10% Under c. 40B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abington | 7.19% | 6.25% | 7.56% | 293 |
| Acton | 8.05% | 7.00% | 8.31% | 316 |
| Amesbury | 8.49% | 7.71% | 8.63% | 196 |
| Andover | 12.44% | 10.81% | 12.12% | |
| Arlington | 6.37% | 5.79% | 6.70% | 945 |
| Ashburnham | 1.18% | 1.12% | 1.65% | 229 |
| Ashby | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.49% | 126 |
| Ashland | 5.62% | 4.88% | 6.19% | 439 |
| Attleboro | 6.12% | 5.32% | 6.63% | 1,025 |
| Auburn | 5.24% | 4.74% | 5.71% | 406 |
| Ayer | 5.97% | 4.99% | 6.64% | 227 |
| Bedford | 18.23% | 16.02% | 17.23% | |
| Bellingham | 11.22% | 10.09% | 11.09% | |
| Belmont | 6.21% | 5.40% | 6.71% | 574 |
| Berkley | 1.70% | 1.62% | 2.10% | 207 |
| Beverly | 11.22% | 9.75% | 11.06% | 51 |
| Billerica | 10.79% | 9.38% | 10.69% | 110 |
| Bourne | 6.60% | 6.21% | 6.80% | 359 |
| Boxborough | 11.35% | 10.81% | 11.29% | |
| Boxford | 1.57% | 1.50% | 1.98% | 249 |
| Braintree | 9.30% | 7.44% | 9.44% | 481 |
| Bridgewater | 10.79% | 9.38% | 10.69% | 66 |
| Brockton | 12.06% | 10.48% | 11.79% | |
| Brookline | 11.26% | 8.99% | 11.00% | 350 |
| Burlington | 12.72% | 11.56% | 12.47% | |
| Cambridge | 12.90% | 10.30% | 12.31% | |
| Canton | 11.88% | 10.32% | 11.63% | |
| Carlisle | 2.69% | 2.57% | 3.04% | 147 |
| Carver | 3.04% | 2.89% | 3.37% | 346 |
| Chelmsford | 9.78% | 8.89% | 9.80% | 179 |
| Chelsea | 16.64% | 13.30% | 15.31% | |
| Cohasset | 9.45% | 7.90% | 9.54% | 81 |
| Concord | 9.97% | 8.65% | 9.97% | 111 |
| Danvers | 10.06% | 9.14% | 10.06% | 110 |
| Dedham | 10.80% | 9.39% | 10.70% | 73 |
| Dover | 2.82% | 2.69% | 3.17% | 155 |
| Dracut | 4.93% | 4.48% | 5.39% | 747 |
| Duxbury | 7.35% | 6.53% | 7.64% | 233 |
| East Bridgewater | 3.39% | 2.96% | 4.23% | 417 |
| Easton | 9.39% | 8.53% | 9.44% | 147 |
| Essex | 2.58% | 2.45% | 2.96% | 123 |
| Everett | 4.51% | 3.60% | 5.61% | 1,453 |
| Fall River | 10.26% | 8.92% | 10.22% | 551 |
| Fitchburg | 8.94% | 7.77% | 9.08% | 446 |
| Foxborough | 11.47% | 10.43% | 11.34% | |
| Framingham | 10.50% | 9.13% | 10.44% | 290 |
| Franklin | 10.86% | 9.44% | 10.75% | 80 |
| Freetown | 2.49% | 2.05% | 3.84% | 333 |
| Georgetown | 11.14% | 9.00% | 10.92% | 39 |
| Gloucester | 7.51% | 6.45% | 7.86% | 573 |
| Grafton | 5.53% | 5.03% | 5.94% | 423 |
| Groton | 5.25% | 5.00% | 5.48% | 216 |
| Groveland | 3.45% | 3.28% | 3.76% | 182 |
| Halifax | 1.17% | 0.94% | 2.89% | 347 |
| Hamilton | 4.07% | 3.22% | 5.29% | 239 |
| Hanover | 10.83% | 9.47% | 10.72% | 31 |
| Hanson | 4.79% | 4.02% | 5.63% | 279 |
| Harvard | 4.91% | 4.67% | 5.16% | 123 |
| Haverhill | 9.81% | 8.53% | 9.84% | 470 |
| Hingham | 10.28% | 8.93% | 10.24% | 121 |
| Holbrook | 9.90% | 8.61% | 9.91% | 70 |
| Holden | 5.53% | 5.02% | 5.94% | 406 |
| Holliston | 4.56% | 4.02% | 5.21% | 376 |
| Hopkinton | 10.99% | 9.87% | 10.89% | 9 |
| Hull | 1.66% | 1.48% | 2.53% | 476 |
| Ipswich | 9.48% | 8.20% | 9.55% | 129 |
| Kingston | 4.48% | 3.88% | 5.21% | 370 |
| Lakeville | 5.71% | 5.42% | 5.92% | 211 |
| Lancaster | 5.04% | 4.80% | 5.28% | 149 |
| Lawrence | 13.24% | 11.51% | 12.82% | |
| Leicester | 4.06% | 3.86% | 4.34% | 279 |
| Leominster | 7.33% | 6.37% | 7.68% | 779 |
| Lexington | 10.77% | 9.79% | 10.70% | 28 |
| Lincoln | 12.83% | 10.08% | 12.23% | |
| Littleton | 11.71% | 9.80% | 11.43% | 9 |
| Lowell | 11.82% | 10.28% | 11.58% | |
| Lunenburg | 8.21% | 7.81% | 8.30% | 108 |
| Lynn | 11.74% | 10.20% | 11.51% | |
| Lynnfield | 11.87% | 10.52% | 11.66% | |
| Malden | 9.37% | 7.50% | 9.50% | 866 |
| Manchester-by-the-Sea | 5.02% | 4.03% | 5.99% | 170 |
| Mansfield | 10.41% | 9.05% | 10.36% | 100 |
| Marblehead | 3.85% | 3.49% | 4.43% | 621 |
| Marlborough | 10.70% | 9.72% | 10.63% | 53 |
| Marshfield | 7.75% | 6.99% | 7.97% | 354 |
| Maynard | 8.99% | 8.17% | 9.08% | 95 |
| Medfield | 8.87% | 7.58% | 9.03% | 125 |
| Medford | 6.87% | 5.49% | 7.50% | 1,449 |
| Medway | 11.37% | 9.84% | 11.19% | 8 |
| Melrose | 7.69% | 6.68% | 7.99% | 480 |
| Merrimac | 5.32% | 5.06% | 5.54% | 142 |
| Methuen | 9.86% | 8.96% | 9.87% | 229 |
| Middleborough | 9.62% | 8.35% | 9.67% | 184 |
| Middleton | 4.83% | 3.94% | 5.79% | 246 |
| Millbury | 3.72% | 3.30% | 4.42% | 448 |
| Millis | 3.59% | 2.94% | 4.75% | 292 |
| Milton | 7.63% | 6.10% | 8.11% | 478 |
| Nahant | 2.98% | 2.84% | 3.33% | 121 |
| Natick | 9.60% | 8.34% | 9.65% | 297 |
| Needham | 11.85% | 10.30% | 11.61% | |
| New Bedford | 11.63% | 10.11% | 11.41% | |
| Newbury | 3.45% | 3.27% | 3.79% | 199 |
| Newburyport | 9.45% | 8.17% | 9.52% | 175 |
| Newton | 8.67% | 6.92% | 8.93% | 1,274 |
| Norfolk | 4.21% | 3.48% | 5.21% | 282 |
| North Andover | 7.99% | 7.26% | 8.17% | 358 |
| North Attleborough | 2.90% | 2.64% | 3.55% | 1,012 |
| North Reading | 9.37% | 8.30% | 9.44% | 111 |
| Northborough | 10.28% | 9.12% | 10.25% | 58 |
| Northbridge | 6.81% | 6.12% | 7.13% | 287 |
| Norton | 10.02% | 9.04% | 10.02% | 73 |
| Norwell | 5.82% | 4.86% | 6.51% | 232 |
| Norwood | 9.02% | 7.84% | 9.15% | 337 |
| Paxton | 4.23% | 4.03% | 4.51% | 105 |
| Peabody | 11.18% | 10.16% | 11.07% | |
| Pembroke | 8.87% | 8.00% | 8.98% | 153 |
| Plymouth | 4.88% | 4.40% | 5.39% | 1,595 |
| Plympton | 5.18% | 4.93% | 5.41% | 56 |
| Princeton | 1.89% | 1.80% | 2.28% | 118 |
| Quincy | 9.00% | 7.20% | 9.20% | 1,642 |
| Randolph | 9.84% | 8.56% | 9.86% | 214 |
| Raynham | 8.50% | 7.52% | 8.68% | 160 |
| Reading | 9.76% | 8.48% | 9.79% | 173 |
| Rehoboth | 0.96% | 0.91% | 1.39% | 438 |
| Revere | 7.06% | 5.65% | 7.65% | 1,331 |
| Rochester | 0.39% | 0.37% | 0.85% | 210 |
| Rockland | 6.26% | 5.69% | 6.60% | 343 |
| Rockport | 3.79% | 3.20% | 4.75% | 287 |
| Rowley | 3.93% | 3.14% | 5.15% | 205 |
| Salem | 10.21% | 8.87% | 10.18% | 263 |
| Salisbury | 8.74% | 7.47% | 8.92% | 130 |
| Saugus | 6.88% | 6.25% | 7.16% | 464 |
| Scituate | 4.88% | 4.18% | 5.60% | 507 |
| Seekonk | 1.45% | 1.29% | 2.40% | 589 |
| Sharon | 10.57% | 9.18% | 10.50% | 61 |
| Sherborn | 3.10% | 2.95% | 3.43% | 114 |
| Shirley | 4.09% | 3.27% | 5.27% | 218 |
| Shrewsbury | 6.00% | 5.45% | 6.36% | 745 |
| Somerville | 8.95% | 7.15% | 9.16% | 1,287 |
| Southborough | 7.95% | 6.62% | 8.30% | 151 |
| Sterling | 7.00% | 6.66% | 7.14% | 108 |
| Stoneham | 4.91% | 4.46% | 5.37% | 617 |
| Stoughton | 11.06% | 9.61% | 10.92% | 51 |
| Stow | 6.53% | 6.21% | 6.69% | 109 |
| Sudbury | 11.88% | 10.66% | 11.69% | |
| Sutton | 1.55% | 1.48% | 1.96% | 317 |
| Swampscott | 4.01% | 3.48% | 4.80% | 470 |
| Taunton | 6.92% | 6.01% | 7.32% | 1,142 |
| Tewksbury | 8.99% | 8.17% | 9.09% | 243 |
| Topsfield | 8.68% | 8.26% | 8.74% | 42 |
| Townsend | 4.09% | 3.89% | 4.37% | 227 |
| Tyngsborough | 10.30% | 8.86% | 10.26% | 61 |
| Upton | 6.37% | 6.06% | 6.54% | 122 |
| Wakefield | 8.84% | 7.68% | 8.99% | 300 |
| Walpole | 6.56% | 5.70% | 7.01% | 494 |
| Waltham | 6.68% | 5.81% | 7.11% | 1,276 |
| Wareham | 7.44% | 6.64% | 7.71% | 406 |
| Watertown | 7.37% | 6.70% | 7.61% | 615 |
| Wayland | 9.14% | 8.00% | 9.25% | 119 |
| Wellesley | 10.68% | 9.28% | 10.59% | 76 |
| Wenham | 12.35% | 9.86% | 11.88% | 2 |
| West Boylston | 7.49% | 6.27% | 7.90% | 134 |
| West Bridgewater | 4.20% | 3.99% | 4.47% | 181 |
| West Newbury | 2.49% | 2.37% | 2.85% | 138 |
| Westborough | 11.67% | 10.14% | 11.45% | |
| Westford | 11.97% | 10.85% | 11.79% | |
| Westminster | 2.74% | 2.60% | 3.10% | 247 |
| Weston | 3.78% | 3.18% | 4.76% | 323 |
| Westwood | 10.59% | 9.20% | 10.51% | 53 |
| Weymouth | 6.44% | 5.60% | 6.91% | 1,281 |
| Whitman | 3.48% | 3.03% | 4.33% | 479 |
| Wilmington | 12.32% | 10.71% | 12.02% | |
| Winchester | 3.07% | 2.67% | 3.98% | 681 |
| Winthrop | 5.43% | 4.94% | 5.85% | 488 |
| Woburn | 10.72% | 9.32% | 10.63% | 137 |
| Worcester | 12.14% | 10.55% | 11.86% | |
| Wrentham | 11.63% | 9.99% | 11.40% |
The MBTA Communities Act guidelines should mandate that each developer allocate minimum of 25% of the total units as affordable housing. While this approach would contribute to progress toward affordability, many believe that these so-called affordable units remain out of reach for the current residents of the communities where they may eventually be built. However, no state statute should permit developers to bypass public health and safety standards for any development. Ensuring this should be a top priority in all legislation.
Many, if not all, of the regulations being implemented in Massachusetts are modeled after California laws. Studies and experts in California and the Pacific northwest indicate that these measures are failing there. The ongoing wildfires and the devastation caused by unchecked densification and climate change serve as a stark reminder of the harm they can bring. We should not incentivize such outcomes in Massachusetts.
When residents are given the opportunity to provide input and feedback on the guidelines under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), as required by state law—a step EOHLC failed to follow during the initial rollout of the MBTA Communities Act—the general public will now be better prepared to offer meaningful input. Thankfully, residents across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are more informed and aware of the Act’s implications, enabling them to advocate for what it should entail, rather than being subjected to a top-down mandate imposed with the threat of penalties from the Attorney General for noncompliance. Will the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) learn from their missteps and embrace a more collaborative approach, or will they persist in imposing policies with authoritarian tactics? We shall see. As they say “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
We, the people, hold the power to elect new leadership that truly represents our shared interests. Just as some local officials have learned this lesson the hard way, the same can happen at the local, state, and federal levels. We can repeal harmful legislation or demand accountability through the courts. The tools are available, but it requires action from the people. Much work remains to be done regarding the MBTA Communities Act, Chapter 40B, the Affordable Homes Act, and other housing policies. We must address housing affordability in a genuine and impactful way that truly benefits the residents of Massachusetts. Obstacles will need to be removed to accomplish this problem and it will require cooperation.