by iwd Tina | Aug 11, 2022 | Housing News
Slides with Overview of Final Guidelines for MBTA Communities
On August 10, the Baker-Polito Administration issued final guidelines to determine compliance with the new requirement for every MBTA community to have at least one zoning district in which multifamily housing is allowed as of right and located near a transit station, if applicable.
After issuing draft guidelines on December 15, 2021, the Administration held a public comment period until March 31, 2022. According to the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), they received nearly 400 comments after more than 24 public engagement sessions.
In a letter from Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy and DHCD Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox, the final guidelines incorporate several changes:
Revised Community Categories: MBTA Communities are now categorized as rapid transit, commuter rail, adjacent, or adjacent small town. The “bus service” category has been eliminated.
Significant Adjustments for Small and Rural Towns with No Transit Stations: The final guidelines eliminate the minimum land area requirement and reduce the multi-family unit capacity requirement for communities with a population of less than 7,000 or less than 500 residents per square mile.
Changes to the Reasonable Size Criteria: The guidelines establish “circuit breakers” that prevent multi-family unit capacity from exceeding 25% of a community’s existing housing stock, or the minimum land from exceeding 1.5% of its total developable land area.
Tailored District Location Requirements: The portion of a multi-family zoning district that must be located within a half mile of a transit station now varies based on the amount of developable station area within each MBTA community. Communities with more developable station area land will be required to have more of their multi-family districts within a half mile of transit stations. A community with less than 100 developable acres within a half mile of a station will be free to choose any appropriate location.
Multi-family Unit Capacity Tool: To help communities calculate multi-family unit capacity in a consistent, transparent, and data-driven way, we built a compliance model workbook tool. The compliance model will provide a GIS land map for each municipality and calculate a zoning district’s multi-family unit capacity and gross density based on inputs provided by each community. This tool will be widely available for use in the fall.
The final guidelines also include refinements and adjustments in other key areas, such as affordability, local site plan review, and other technical matters, including updated definitions.
Please visit mass.gov/mbtacommunities for the guidelines and other relevant information, including forms pertaining to the compliance process. The website also includes an online form for technical assistance requests.
DHCD will host a webinar on the guidelines on September 8, 2022 at 1:00pm. Webinar Registration.
CHAPA will post more information on the final guidelines after finishing a thorough review. Please check back on our website soon.
by iwd Tina | Aug 11, 2022 | Housing News
On August 10, Governor Baker signed a clean energy and climate bill (H.5060) which includes a pilot program to allow ten cities and towns to restrict or prohibit the use of fossil fuels in most construction or major renovation projects. Governor Baker expressed concern that the pilot program could slow housing production. It is not clear which ten communities will be selected to participate in the pilot but Boston has already expressed interest passing a fossil fuel ban.
The fossil fuel ban would apply to research laboratories for scientific of medial research or to hospitals or other health care facilities.
A community must have local approval to participate in the pilot. Eligible communities must have:
- Met the 10% threshold on the subsidized housing inventory under Chapter 40B; or
- Has approved a zoning ordinance or by-law that provides for at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right.
The pilot would be overseen by the Department of Energy Resources, who could promulgate regulations to implement the pilot.
SLIDES WITH OVERVIEW OF FOSSIL FUEL BAN DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
by iwd Tina | Aug 9, 2022 | Housing News
On August 9, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) issued new guidance for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), as required in the FY23 MRVP Budget Line Item passed in July. DHCD is implementing new calculation methods for both Mobile and Project Based Voucher Tenant Rent Shares for MRVP.
According to DHCD, DHCD is moving MRVP from a model with maximum rents and a Voucher Value to a payment standard model, similar to the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8). A utility allowance will also replace the current heat deduction. DHCD believes this switch will allow MRVP Participants additional choice when searching for housing with their voucher, while also lowering the percentage of net income a vast majority of Participants pay in rent to Owners.
For Project Based Vouchers, DHCD is lowering Tenant Rent Share to 30% of net income and adding a utility allowance.
According to DHCD, all changes to the calculation of tenant rent share will be effective the first time tenant rent share is re-calculated for any reason on or after January 1, 2023.
CHAPA advocated for these changes along with many of our partners in the FY2023 state budget. These new policies will strengthen and improve our state rental voucher program and will benefit the tens of thousands of residents with MRVP vouchers.
by iwd Tina | Aug 1, 2022 | Housing News
On August 1, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) made administrative changes to the emergency rental assistance program Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT).
DHCD now requires a notice to quit or eviction notice/court summons for households applying for assistance with rent arrears. This new requirement is made at the discretion of DHCD. Under changes to the program implemented during the COVID emergency, RAFT no longer required a court summons to apply for the emergency assistance, allowing households to access help earlier, avoid a formal court process and potential eviction record. Owners also did not have to start a formal eviction process for their residents to access RAFT.
There is also a new RAFT benefit cap of $10,000, in effect from August 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, as required by the FY2023 state budget.
The chart below from DHCD shows how this policy will be implemented based on application submission and processing dates:
| Application Submission Date |
Application Processed Date |
Benefit Limit |
Notice to Quit (NTQ) or Eviction Notice/Court Summons Required for Payment of Rent Arrears? |
| Before August 1, 2022 |
Before August 1, 2022 |
Up to $7,000 |
NO |
| Before August 1, 2022 |
On or After August 1, 2022 |
Up to $10,000 |
NO |
| On or After August 1, 2022 |
On or After August 1, 2022 |
Up to $10,000 |
YES |
There will be webinar trainings for community-based partners on August 18, 2022, regarding FY23 RAFT and these changes. Attendees must register in advance.
August 18, 2022 from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_StVjuqk3RMWiwhG8U-9DBg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
by iwd Tina | Aug 1, 2022 | Housing News
The Legislature failed to pass an economic development bill by the close of the legislative session, which ended on July 31. A conference committee could not agree to a final bill as it negotiated differences between each chamber’s respective versions.
For housing, the Economic Development Bill contained potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in capital authorizations for affordable housing programs, including nearly $100 million for public housing capital repairs. The legislation could have also included up to $400 million in the state’s American Rescue Plan Act Fiscal Recovery Funds and budget surplus funding for homeownership, workforce housing, and affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income households. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill also included critical public housing reforms that would have helped redevelop and rehabilitate our public housing.
The bill also included proposed tax relief for millions of Massachusetts residents.
In the usual hectic lead up to the end of the legislative session, when legislators often come together with last minute deals on major pieces of legislation, the Economic Development Bill faced an unexpected challenge. Until the last week of session, legislators were unaware of a state law that will likely be triggered requiring $3 billion in direct tax relief because of unexpectedly high revenue collections.
Lawmakers were unsure if the state could afford the $3 billion in unexpected tax relief in addition to the $4 billion full price tag of the current economic development proposals. Legislative leaders announced that the bill would remain in conference until they could better understand the scope and impact of triggering the tax rebate law.
Unfortunately, this leaves all of the provisions of the economic development bill in limbo. With the end of the formal legislative session on July 31, the House and Senate will only meet in informal sessions between now and the beginning of 2023.
Informal sessions are not typically used to pass large or controversial pieces of legislation, like a multi-billion dollar economic development bill, because any member can object to a bill and hold up the process. Also, certain legislation cannot be passed during informal sessions, like borrowing authorizations, because they require recorded votes, which only happen during formal legislative sessions. The borrowing authorizations would include the nearly $200 million in capital authorizations for affordable housing.
The House and Senate both indicated they will decide if pieces of the Economic Development Bill could be taken during informal sessions but anything passed would likely be a much slimmed-down version of either the House or Senate Economic Development Bills.
CHAPA is disappointed that the Economic Development Bill did not pass. The bill would have provided the opportunity to plan for growth to ensure everyone in every community could thrive, meet the growing demand for housing, and invest in our neighborhoods in ways that benefit everyone.
CHAPA will be advocating for the Legislature to pass these pieces of the Economic Development Bill during informal sessions, including over $400 million in resources for homeownership, workforce housing, and homes for those with the lowest incomes as well as funding and policies to rehabilitate our public housing.
by iwd Tina | Jul 28, 2022 | Housing News
Governor Charlie Baker today signed the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, a $52.7 billion budget with historic investments in affordable housing programs along with other critical priorities.The final budget deposits nearly $1.5 billion into the Rainy Day Fund bringing the balance of the Fund to $8.4 billion.
CHAPA thanks the Legislature and Governor Baker for making historic investments in affordable housing programs. These investments are critical as Massachusetts recovers from the pandemic.
The budget allocates $884.6 million for the Department of Housing and Community Development, a $300.5 million (51%) increase above FY22. This includes $154.3 million for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), which will support enhanced benefits and reforms that will give families more housing choice and flexibility.
Along with eligibility expansions that will multiply the number of households served and increase benefits, the budget invests a historic $150 million in Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), a 582% increase above FY22, and it provides $59.4 million for HomeBASE, a 129% increase vs. FY22. It also supports $110 million for homeless individual shelters, a 90% increase above FY22.
Specifically, the budget invests in the following:
- $219.4 million for the Emergency Assistance family shelter system
- $154.3 million for MRVP to support more than 10,000 vouchers in FY23
- $150 million for Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), an increase of $128 million above FY22
- $110 million for Homeless Individual Shelters and $5 million to continue an innovative model to create new housing opportunities with wraparound services for chronically homeless individuals
- $92 million in funding for Local Housing Authorities
- $59.4 million for HomeBASE Household Assistance
- $12.5 million for a collaborative program through which the Department of Mental Health provides mental health services and DHCD provides rental assistance
