Idea #174 – Adopt a Housing Production Plan

Report Status: Fully Reviewed

Researched by: 8/1/2021 by Paul Rickter

Original Idea as Submitted

Adopt a Housing Production Plan for Affordable Housing

Other ideas included in this report

  • None

Idea intent

The intent of this idea appears to be that producing a Housing Production Plan (HPP) for affordable housing would benefit Belmont by allowing us to plan the development of affordable housing in the town. If a municipality has not reached a minimum level of affordable housing inventory, state law provides developers with considerable latitude to create housing developments as long as a portion of the housing is classified as affordable. Developing an HPP and implementing it would provide Belmont with more control over these types of developments.

Weighted Final Score: N/A (already implemented)

Background Information

In 1969, Massachusetts passed Chapter 40B (https://malegislature.gov/laws/generallaws/parti/titlevii/chapter40b) into state law to encourage the development of affordable housing in municipalities in the state. Under 40B, if less than 10% of the housing in a city or town qualifies as affordable under state law, developers are allowed to build more densely than they would otherwise be allowed to under local zoning bylaws, provided that at least 25% of the new housing units will be permanently affordable.

In Belmont, affordable units constitute less than 10% of housing units and that situation is unlikely to change in the next 5 to 10 years. Under Massachusetts law, a municipality like Belmont can enact plans to pursue development of affordable housing by creating an HPP. Having an HPP and being able to demonstrate that it's being used to develop affordable housing provides the municipality with a measure of control over development under Chapter 40B.

In 2018, the Belmont Housing Trust created a Housing Production Plan (https://www.belmont-ma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6831/f/uploads/hpp_revised_and_approved_3-2018_04_03_18.pdf) and this HPP was subsequently approved by the Planning Board and the Select Board. The HPP outlines a series of strategies for developing affordable housing in Belmont and identifies specific parcels of land that might provide opportunities for affordable housing development. One parcel identified in the HPP, McLean Zone 3, is currently being planned as a development with a mix of affordable and market rate housing.

In April 2021, Belmont Town Meeting appropriated $250,000 from Community Preservation Act funds to create a Housing Trust Fund. The Housing Trust plans to explore ways to use this fund to help increase affordable housing in Belmont.

Recommendations

  • This idea is complete. A Housing Production Plan (HPP) has been adopted by Belmont.

  • Work continues to use the HPP to produce more affordable housing, including the McLean project, which is in the detailed planning stage as of this writing.

  • Further work on promoting future affordable housing developments will be done by the Belmont Housing Trust. The Housing Trust is a town committee that is appointed by the Select Board to promote affordable housing in Belmont.

Next Steps

  • Stay compliant with state law by adopting a new Housing Production Plan in 2023.

Further Reading