While the Chapter 40B affordable housing law was an admirable effort to create affordable housing in Massachusetts, results over the past 38 years have proven this effort to be a seriously flawed approach.
The rigid, mandatory 10-percent rule for every town makes no sense and has only led to an abusive, regressive planning approach to create affordable housing. This is especially true in rural towns that do not have the employment opportunities, school system capacity, or public transportation infrastructure necessary to support the influx of unplanned housing within a framework of “smart growth planning.” Bypassing measured planned growth has led to a financial crisis in many towns where funding relies almost solely on the residential property tax. Towns that have planned for “smart growth” by including business or commercial zoning to attract employment opportunities and ease the tax burden on homeowners have seen these zones “overtaken” with 40B projects. How can towns realistically plan for their future growth under these circumstances?
It is obvious that no matter how long this law is allowed to exist, many towns in Massachusetts will never meet the 10-percent requirement. Only developers are guaranteed a long-term market, and profit by “cherry picking” development. Towns are only guaranteed that the developers will some day “visit” their town.
A more sensible approach would be to establish goals on a regional basis and include variable percentages throughout the state, based on a number of factors that include, among others, rural character, employment opportunities, transportation, and capacities of municipal services.
There also needs to be more local control in the approving and monitoring of affordable housing projects. The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) simply lacks an understanding of rural character, local demographics, property tax burdens, and the long-term consequences for rural towns. A “one-size-fits-all” approach to affordable housing is not a recipe for success.
Unless there is a significant change in the law to correct the current unrealistic approach, the only alternate is to repeal Chapter 40B. After 38 years Massachusetts ranks 49th in affordable housing, and there is no other state that has adopted such an approach. Are we so sure that our 40B approach is the right one and the entire country is wrong?
Joseph R. Sudol Jr.
Lancaster County Road
