mbta communities (3A)

MBTA Communities refers to Section 3A of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40A, as passed by the state legislature in 2021. Its relation to the MBTA comes from the law’s requirements being contingent on the type(s) of MBTA transit—e,g, the rapid transit, commuter rail, bus—that serve a given municipality. The overall goal of the law being to make future development of dense housing close to transit to be possible. The specific requirements that each municipality has to meet were created in order to check that each place is complying with the law in their zoning.  

The law specifically only pertains to zoning, not construction. Zoning is the way in which towns legally specify what types of uses and sizes of buildings can be on a given piece of property.

The law states: “An MBTA community shall have 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; provided, however, that such multi-family housing shall be without age restrictions and shall be suitable for families with children.” 

The law defines a district of reasonable size as having a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre. It must be located within 1/2 mile from the relevant transit option(s) in a given town. At least half of the district must comprise contiguous lots of land of a minimum of 5 acres. The total district is required to be 50 acres or 1.5% of the “developable land” available.

Multi-family housing means housing with at least 3 units on one piece of property. 

Unit capacity refers to the total number of units that could be placed on one piece of property, based on the town’s zoning regulations. Unit capacity is not a count of existing homes nor a projection of what will be built, it is an estimated count of what is technically allowable. 

As of right means that projects that comply with the zoning bylaws can cleanly move through the approvals process (Site Plan Review) without requiring any discretionary approvals such as special permits, variances, or waivers. In our discussions we will use the terms “as of right” or “by-right” interchangeably. 

The law does not allow for restrictions or specifications on age restrictions, size of individual units, bedroom counts/size, or number of occupants—the zone must allow multi-family housing be suitable for families with children. 

The law does not require any affordability restrictions, although towns can choose to include them if they wish. More information is below.

We recommend visiting the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities general MBTA Communities page for more info. 

In Reading, our relevant transit hub to the law is the MBTA commuter rail train station located in downtown (32 Lincoln Street). As we are classified as a Commuter Rail Community under the law, there are additional calculations used in determining the exact location of our required district of “reasonable size” and the corresponding exact number of units that must be zoned for by-right. The numbers listed below come directly from EOHLC and are nonnegotiable. 

We are required to zone for a minimum of 1,493 units at a gross density of 15 units per acre across a minimum of 43 acres, of which at least half of our units and acreage must be within a ½ mile of the train depot. 

(LINK) PDF Map of the 1/2 Mile Area directly surrounding the Reading Train Depot

Reading’s required total zoned unit capacity was calculated by multiplying the total number of housing units in Reading against the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities' (EOHLC) multiplier per our definition as a commuter rail community. 

• Existing Housing Stock in Reading (from the most recent Decennial census): 9,952 
• Total Units 9,952 x Applicable percentage of housing units as a commuter rail community 0.15 = 1,493

The density requirement of 15 units per acre comes directly from the law.

Our required reasonable district size was calculated to be 43 acres. The district was defined to be either 50 acres of 1.5% of the developable land area in town, whichever is less. Reading uses the latter to determine our district size of 43 acres.

Reading’s Existing Developable Station Area was calculated to be 343 acres. The developable station area is derived from taking the area of the half-mile circle around an MBTA station, and removing any areas comprised of excluded land. Excluded land includes publicly owned land, bodies of water, recreational land, public rights-of-way, and institutional uses. For the full list please see page 3 of the PDF linked below. 

Because our developable station area is between 251-400 acres, Reading is required to have 40% of our unit capacity and district size within ½ mile of the Depot (598 units on 17.2 acres). 

For more details on all of the above definitions and calculations, please see the guidance issued from the Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD), now called the Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities (EOHLC).

Not Yet. At this time, Reading is awaiting final review from EOHLC on the submitted zoning regulations. We are hopeful for a favorable review but there is no guarantee as the State could find reasons for further amendments. 

For more detail on Reading's current Zoning Bylaw and Districts please see our Zoning Bylaw on the Town Clerk's page and our GIS map 

The intention of the law is for all communities in the Boston metro area to share in the creation of diverse housing options. By working jointly over time to create more housing, the region can begin to address its dire affordability issues as the aggregate increase in housing stock releases pressure in the housing market over the long-term. 

The Reading Master Plan has the stated housing goals of promoting diversity in housing types and households, increasing affordable units, and developing proactive housing policies. Complying with the law will bring Reading closer to those goals. We encourage you to look at the current housing and demographic statistics for Reading, now on our Reading by the Numbers page. Home prices have increased far above the median salary in the community, indicating that future homeownership in the town will be increasingly out of reach for the average person or family.  

Communities that fail to comply will not be eligible for funds from the Housing Choice Initiative, the Local Capital Projects Fund, or the MassWorks infrastructure program. In Reading over the years 2018-2022 this funding has equaled hundreds of thousands of dollars in awards. In 2023, the Town was awarded a $2.6 million MassWorks grant and additional grant applications continue to be pursued under these programs. Because these are grant programs, the amounts awarded are highly variable based on the Town's applications. 

In March 2023 State Attorney General Campbell additionally clarified that failure to comply will result in civil enforcement action or liability under federal and state fair housing laws e.g. the state will sue municipalities that do not comply. (Press release)

By-right, or as-of-right development means that a project will require no waivers, special permits, or any other discretionary approvals. A project is still required to go through the normal development processes including Site Plan Review or Minor Site Plan Review, and/or the regular building permitting approvals.

For example, if a 5-unit Townhouse project is proposed on a 20,000SF lot, that project would come to CPDC to go through Site Plan Review; the neighbors would be notified of the project and a public hearing and revision process would take place. By-right development simply means that the CPDC and Planning Staff cannot deny the project as long as the proposal meets the criteria of our Zoning Bylaw.

By-right development is included as a specific requirement of the 3A law because of how many communities in the Boston metro area require special permits or waivers for increased density in order for multi-family housing to be constructed. In 2019 it was summarized that for the 100 communities within the Boston metro area, in the 3 years prior 86% of all multi-family units that were permitted required discretionary approvals, meaning only 14% of units were permitted by-right.

When is development not by-right?

Development is not by-right when the lot or use is determined to be non-conforming, which means it doesn’t meet the current standards of the zone. When zoning is changed over a given geography, any current lots or uses that don’t meet the new standard become considered “non-conforming”. 

In Reading several of our zoning districts have a high percentage of non-conforming lots, because zoning was changed to be more restrictive after these areas were built. For example, in our current A-40 zone that is Northeast of downtown there is only 1 lot that meets the district minimum lot size. In our S-15 zoning, about 80% of parcels are non-conforming, because they don’t meet the minimum lot size of 15,000SF. They were all built long before zoning existed and are smaller than the minimum. To expand many of these structures a Special Permit process is required. 

For compliance with the law, non-conforming lots aren’t counted because they can’t be developed by-right. Therefore, a large portion of the decisions made about our new zoning district are simply to bring all of our lots to be conforming lots so they count for compliance in our district. You can think of it as reverse engineering the controls of our new zoning district from the actual parcels that exist today.   

Part of our job as staff is to continually further the existing housing goals put forth by Reading residents. We feel that the MBTA Communities compliance process gives us a chance to revisit the Town's goals and ask whether or not we as a community have taken the necessary strides to meet them.

 “The community is not complete without offering options for our children and our seniors, for households on fixed income and long-time residents and those who do not drive. Affordability and diversity in housing types and households are fundamental to the open, motivated and proud community that Reading is.” – 2006 Master Plan

2006 Master Plan Housing Goals:

• Goal 1: Establish a strong public commitment to housing and develop proactive housing policies.
• Goal 2: Increase affordable units.
• Goal 3: Promote Diversity in housing types & households.
• Goal 4: Promote Neighborhood preservation.

2023 Housing Production Plan, Development & Regulatory Goals:

• Increase, diversify and promote a mix of housing options in Reading for low- to middle-income households.
• Create and maintain housing that is available and accessible to aging and disabled populations. Support housing development needs for most vulnerable residents.
• Proactively plan for and manage the integration of housing growth to mitigate impacts and enhance the existing residential character of the Town.
• Provide equitable access to housing opportunities, public spaces, green spaces and healthy/safe environments.
• Maintain Reading’s Safe Harbor designation by retaining pace of Affordable Housing development in order to remain above 10% on Subsidized Housing Inventory.

2020 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Report:

• Promote higher density development near the MBTA Commuter Rail and in already developed areas
• Expand Downtown zoning to other areas of Town to improve connectivity
• Cultivate vibrant downtown activity culture for young families

Town Meeting will need to approve changes to our zoning by the end of 2024 in order to comply. We anticipate presenting proposed zoning changes to Town Meeting in Fall 2024. 

Submitting the District to the State

To actually achieve compliance Staff will submit our district and relevant zoning to the State for approval. We will submit a series of GIS shapefiles that map out our district and then answer 50+ questions in a spreadsheet that goes through in detail each aspect of our zoning. They run those zoning parameters over our chosen geography and confirm or deny that it meets the overall size, unit capacity, and density requirements. Staff in conjunction with our consulting team has been testing iterations of our district and are confident that our proposal will meet the State’s requirements.

The law specifically states that there can be no limitations on unit size. Accessory Dwelling Units, also called Accessory apartments or In-law apartments are size limited based on the size of the primary dwelling. Because of these size limitations they are not eligible to use to comply with the law.

Per the State's guidance, "for purposes of compliance with Section 3A, a multi-family zoning district should be a neighborhood-scale district, not a single development site on which the municipality is willing to permit a particular multi-family project."

In Reading, our larger apartment complexes are all single development sites on just one or two parcels, thus they may be questioned for use in compliance's sake. We have submitted zoning over existing development tracts and await comment. 

Two zoning options were brought to 2024 Subsequent Town Meeting in Article 16 and Article 17. Article 17 was passed and has been submitted to the State for review. We should hear back by summer 2025 and feedback will determine next steps. 

Article 17 focused around amendments to the existing districts of the Downtown Smart Growth District (DSGD) 40R and the Apartment-80 District. 

The goal of our survey was to receive actionable direction from residents as to the preferred types of multi-family housing for Reading. The survey was open from June 6 to September 5, 2023 and was publicized on the Town website, Town social media, in the Town Manager Minute, by the Recreation department, the Library, the Economic Development Director, the Senior Center staff, to Board and Committees both via email and at in person presentations and at community events. We received a total of 758 responses, which met our goal. 

We strongly encourage anyone who is interested in the detailed survey results to read the full survey results report. You can access a PDF of the survey questions here.

Takeaways from the survey include that respondents preferred:

• Multi-family buildings with fewer units
• Smaller buildings with fewer stories
• More “house-like” architectural options
• New multi-family units should be near public transit, commercial corridors, and walking distance to pedestrian amenities.
• Respondents highlighted open space, traffic, and changes to neighborhood character as their top concerns with new multi-family housing.

Knowledge Session Events:

#1 - Tuesday September 19: 7pm

An educational session was held, both in person at the Reading Public Library and on Zoom. The focus of the event was on providing background on the law, defining the concepts that relate to the law and compliance, learning about the history of zoning in Reading, our housing goals, and the results of our survey. A recording of the event can be viewed here as recorded by RCTV. A PDF of the slides can be downloaded here. 

#2 - Wednesday October 11: 7pm

An interactive workshop on aspects of zoning and the location of our district was held in person at the Reading Public Library. The focus of the workshop was on learning about and discussing the tradeoffs of the dimensional aspects of zoning and mapping a district. A recording of the event can be viewed here as recorded by RCTV. A PDF of the slides can be downloaded here. 

To explore the workshop topics yourself:
Adjust zoning setbacks and max lot coverage using this interactive zoning visualizer tool
Consider the preferred location for the new zoning district by exploring on GIS and using the markup tool to draw the district 

Economic Development Summit Presentation - Wednesday October 25: 7pm

Staff gave a summary of our first two Knowledge Series events at this combined Economic Development Summit and Financial Forum. A recording of the event can be viewed here as recorded by RCTV.  A PDF of the slides can be downloaded here. 

#3 - Wednesday November 8: 7pm

Staff presentation of our preliminary proposal and two map options, with a robust Q&A both on dimensional controls and mapping options. A PDF of the slides detailing our proposal and relevant supporting information can be downloaded here. A PDF of the two map options can be downloaded here. A recording of the event can be viewed here

Staff takeaways from the public discussion and comments received on the Preliminary Plan design will result in the following changes to our final district proposal:

• Staying within the 1/2-mile zone 
• Include the lots on both sides of any street in the proposed new district
• Focus on walkability and distance from downtown while following natural boundaries and building form in the neighborhoods
• The inclusion of Affordable housing requirements 

We're also did general outreach at community events and committee meetings. 

• Friends & Family Day 6/10
• Library Concert 6/20
• Library Concert 7/14
• Finance Committee 7/25
• Conservation Commission 8/9
• Historical Commission 8/16
• Presentation at the Pleasant Street Center 8/17
• Climate Advisory Committee 8/23
• School Committee 9/7
• Fall Street Faire 9/10
• New Resident Open House 10/3
• Economic Development Summit / Financial Forum 10/25

A series of formal Public Hearings were held by CPDC in order to prepare the proposed zoning amendments to take to April Town Meeting 2024. Materials from those hearings are linked below. The outcome of those Public Hearings was the decision to pause the path forward in order to have staff fully test alternatives for comparison with the existing proposal, which remains the primary option for compliance. 

Prior Public Hearing on February 5: Materials from this meeting are below. A recording of this event as recorded by RCTV can be found here. 

• Proposed Zoning Map, 1-22-24
• Zoning Bylaw Sections for Amendment, 2-5-24
• Slides presented at the event

Prior Public Hearing on January 22: Materials from this meeting are below. A recording of this event as recorded by RCTV can be found here. 

• Zoning Bylaw Section for Amendment, 1-18-24
• Proposed Zoning Map, Minimal Compliance, January 2024
• Proposed Zoning Map, 1-22-24
• Proposed Zoning Map, Largest To-date, November 2023

Prior Public Hearing on December 18: Materials from this meeting are below. A recording of the event as recorded by RCTV can be found here. 

• Proposed District Map
• Zoning Bylaw Sections for Amendment
• Slides shown at the event

Infrastructure 

We’ve been working with DPW and Engineering using our build-out scenarios. They feel confident that our current water and sewer systems would be able to handle those proposed increases for the foreseeable future. Additional investment and upgrades would be dependent upon the location and pace of any future construction.

Schools

There is no correlation between construction and increased school enrollment. That statement is supported by data analysis by MAPC.

Overall enrollment in Reading has been fairly stagnant, if not trending downward over the last decade, and the State projects that enrollment will continue to follow this pattern. We defer any specific questions about enrollment to the School Committee and Superintendent.

Historic protections are not part of the Zoning Bylaw, but instead part of the General Bylaw, and as such the guiding Commission for them is not CPDC, but either the Historic District Commission (HDC), or the Reading Historical Commission (RHC). 

• Nothing about the 3A law or any proposed zoning changes cancel out the existing protections for Historic districts or Historic properties. 
• Nothing stops additional protections from being put into place if the Town desires to approve them, including an increase in the demolition delay from 6 to 12+ months alongside any compliance proposal to immediately have increased protections for Historic properties. 

The answers to questions about historic protections will ultimately not be answered by CPDC, because it is not their jurisdiction, but the discussions can and should continue alongside our zoning compliance work. There is intrinsic value in not just preserving historic assets but in revitalizing and reusing these properties.

No construction is required for compliance with the law. Compliance with the law is zoning only. 

From the zoning changes there could be future construction (see our build-out projections above) but no construction is required.

Our multi-year compliance process began with Phase 1 (Summer 2023), our general public outreach and survey to garner awareness and preliminary input. Phase 2 (Autumn 2023) was our three-part Knowledge Series of events, in which additional context and history were provided and the survey results were refined into the proposal brought forward into Phase 3 Public Hearings (Winter 2023-24). 

During Phase 3 we heard many concerns on the concept at the time and added Phase 4 and Phase 5. These Phases were added to explore new zoning concepts, primarily around commercial areas. Phase 4, a review of 5 additional concepts, reinitiated in Spring 2024 and Phase 5, the narrowing of concepts, concluded in Fall 2024. 

In general:

• 15+ public presentations and workshops were held with 650+ attendees and whose recordings have been viewed a combined 850+ times.
• 300+ flyers handed out at the 6+ public events staff has tabled at since June 1, including Friends & Family Day and the Fall Street Faire.
• 10+ presentations and discussions at regular CPDC meetings and 10+ presentations and discussions at other Boards & Committees meetings.
• 758 responses to our 2024 survey that was publicized and open for 3 months.
• 8,252 households reached with our Planning division insert in the tax bill sent out in September.
• Varying different flyers sent out for our events to 5+ email lists including the Town Manager Minute and the Recreation department list, containing a total of 6900+ individual emails. Event info always posted on the Town website and Facebook. Continuous email blasts to our subscribers, all boards and committees, and other. 
• 1 project specific webpage that has been live since May with a detailed FAQ and meeting information, with 2,600+ views and 1,750+ unique visitors.  
• 8,000+ households reached with our small blurb included in the December DPW newsletter.
• 100+ emails (and counting) from individuals received as public comment. Ongoing meetings and phone calls to discuss the proposal with residents.  
• 2 Town Meeting information sessions.  

Types of housing:

• Single-family home – 1 unit on one lot
• Duplex – 2 units on one lot
• Accessory Apartments/Dwelling Units (ADUs) –also often identified as in-law apartments are a current legal way for single-family dwellings to create a subordinate dwelling unit on the property. 
• Triplex – 3 units on one lot – they are often in the form regionally known as triple deckers
• Multi-family – 3 or more units, though it is colloquially used to mean larger apartment buildings 

Terms you might hear in discussions related to housing--

Transit-oriented development: Mixed residential density development centered on existing or new transportation services including bus service, rail, or bike paths. For example, in Reading this could mean building more apartments near the train depot.

Missing Middle/Gentle Density: Refers to building types such as duplexes, triplexes, and small apartment buildings up to about 10 units that provide diverse housing options. They are termed “missing” because they are typically illegal to build under modern zoning codes and typically exist as non-conforming uses from pre-zoning eras. In Reading there are many of these types of housing in the areas directly surrounding downtown, almost all of them built pre-zoning.

Mixed Use: A building that combines multiple types of use, often referring to a building with commercial or office space on the first floor with residential units above, examples of which can be found in Reading’s downtown.

Aspects of zoning to consider in relation to number of units:

• Number of parking spaces to require per unit
• Dimensional standards of proposed buildings
• Minimum lot size requirements
• Setbacks from the street and lot perimeter

Affordability vs. affordability 

A lot of the discussion around housing centers on discussions of affordability. We think it is important to distinguish between legally defined capital “A” Affordable housing vs. the general discussion of affordability. 

Affordable housing refers to deed-restricted units that are only available to people who are at specific Area Median Incomes (AMIs). The AMI determines eligibility for Affordable housing and is set at a regional level by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Newly built affordable units are often available, for example, to those whose income is 80% of the AMI, though deeper affordability restrictions are possible (i.e. 50% AMI restrictions). 

Inclusionary Zoning refers to zoning that requires Affordable units to be included in newly built multi-family housing. Reading’s Downtown Smart Growth District (DSGD) currently requires Affordable units be provided in projects of more than 8 units.   

General affordability discussions on the lack of affordable housing options typically use the 30% of income spent on housing as a proxy to discuss affordability. While 30% of income is considered a general guideline for a max to spend on housing, this is not a legal definition. Affordability can mean different things to different people based on their circumstances. When we discuss or use the term affordable in our materials we mean a rental price or home price that would be consistent with median incomes.  

Our page on Housing & Demographic Statistics for Reading 

MBTA Communities Tracker Map of all communities in the Boston region and their status 

Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s short video: Why MBTA Multifamily Zoning Makes Sense for Massachusetts

This informative video by City Beautiful explains many of the zoning concepts that are crucial to understand in relation to the law. 

Amy Dain’s five-part series in Commonwealth Magazine in 2022 gives the non-planner a good understanding of the MBTA Communities law and how it will impact local Massachusetts MBTA towns and cities:

• “What the MBTA Communities law means for your town”
• “Solving the MBTA communities zoning puzzle”
• “Seeking predictable permitting for new housing”
• “Where should new multi-family housing go” 
• “Overcoming the restrictions on multi-family housing”

The 2019 Report "The State of Zoning for Multi-Family Housing in Greater Boston" by Amy Dain is informative context on regional trends in zoning and housing. 

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) has an informative Regional Housing Page with information, toolkits, reports, and more.

The Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) is a non-profit advocate for affordable housing in the region and they host events, programming, and housing opportunities and are an educational resource.

The EOHLC released updated guidance on the law in August 2023.

• Early Technical Assistance Summary Memo
• Action Plan Submission
• Approval of Action Plan 
• Statistics on Housing & Demographics