Bill > H1254

This bill aims to make Chapter 40B, a Massachusetts law that allows developers to bypass local zoning laws to build affordable housing, more responsive to cities and towns by introducing several changes. It defines "Local Housing Authority" as any housing authority within a city or town, expands the definition of eligible funding sources for affordable housing to include "state or local" in addition to federal, and prohibits funding from the Federal Home Loan Bank for low or moderate income housing programs. The bill also clarifies how to calculate a municipality's affordable housing stock, counting all rental units and market-rate units built under Chapter 40B, and sets the affordability of housing at 40% of the income for those earning 80% or less of the area median income, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It caps developer profits at 10% and limits the acquisition cost used for profit calculation. Furthermore, the bill shifts oversight from the "board of zoning appeals" to the "planning board" for certain aspects of Chapter 40B projects, and requires applicants to justify any waivers of local regulations, with specific limitations on waiving environmental and health regulations, and mandates that the property can physically support at least 35% of the proposed units conventionally. Municipalities with at least 40% of their housing units affordable to households earning 80% or less of the area median income may be exempt from Chapter 40B. The bill also mandates that all affordable housing units have perpetual use restrictions recorded in the registry of deeds and allows planning boards to charge reasonable fees for reviewing applications, require a percentage of handicapped accessible units, and consider the impact of development density on municipal services. Finally, it requires developers to meet with and pay fees to the local housing authority for administering the rental or sale of affordable units, with the local housing authority responsible for managing the process using existing waiting lists and requiring criminal offender record information checks and annual income recertification for eligible residents.