Massachusetts Repeal 40B (2008)
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Repeal 40B is a initiated state statute to repeal the four housing provisions from Chapter 40B.
Chapter 40B is a Massachusetts state statute passed in 1969. 40B allows developers who include a certain percentage of affordable housing (25% for owner-occupied units) to appeal local zoning board denials or restrictions to the state Housing Appeals Committee (HAC).
Appeals can be initiated when the developer has been denied a comprehensive permit by the ZBA or has been issued a permit with conditions that the developer claims would make the project uneconomic.
Under 40B, affordable housing is defined as units which can be afforded by households making 70% of the local median income, have been subsidized by certain state or federal housing subsidy programs, and have long-term deed restrictions.[1]
Proponents of the Repeal
The Committee to Repeal40B and their supporters are the leading proponents of the measure. The group argues that 40B is not working for the following reasons:[2]
- For 38 years Massachusetts ranks 49th in national rankings for housing affordability
- About 53% of the few “affordable” units the state does are in danger of expiring due to deed restrictions running out.
- Two-thirds of the additions to the state’s affordable housing stock have been from repair programs, new houses for the Dept. of Mental Health/Retardation and market rate rental units that “count” towards 40B thresholds
- Very few communities that have reached the “10% affordable” threshold set by 40B
- Many communities report only 3 affordable units, per town, per year
- It is exceedingly difficult for 40B to serve the neediest households unless they secure supplementary funding since 40B targets only those at the upper end of eligibility (70-80% of median income.)
- A recent sampling of 40B rental units showed that some 30% of tenants needed additional rent vouchers just to be able to afford to live in the "affordable" units.
Other support includes the Harvard Slow Growth initiative which has released a report criticizing 40B.[3]
Opposition of the Repeal
The leading opposition of the initiative is the Citizen Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) which advocates that that 40B should remain or even be increased in size in order to create more affordable housing in Massachusetts. Some of their arguments include:[4]
- Without 40B there would be less affordable housing
- Chapter 40B has been responsible for the production of affordable housing developments that in most cases could not have been built under traditional zoning approaches.
- Zoning boards work with developers to modify the project
- 40B has created affordable housing and serves the people who really need it.
The Massachusetts Housing Partnership has also encouraged cities and townships to use 40B.[5]
Status
The group has submitted signatures for the first phase of approval from the Secretary of State, which needs 66,593 signatures.[6]
The measure failed to submit enough signatures to qualify for the first phase of the approval process. Fewer than 34,000 signatures were submitted by the proponents. Of the signatures submitted 2,442 were disqualified because the signatures sheets were not exact copies or had extraneous markings. The proponents have promised to return for the next general election cycle with a larger campaign.[7]
See also
- List of Massachusetts ballot measures
- Procedures for qualifying an initiative in Massachusetts
- Campaign finance requirements for Massachusetts ballot measures
- Massachusetts 2008 ballot measures
- Petition drive deadlines in 2008
- Massachusetts signature requirements
External links
- Repeal40B
- Citizen Housing and Planning Association
- Repeal 40B Ballot Question Clears Hurdle, Garden City, Nov. 25, 2007
- Chapter 40B Petition, The Wanderer, Sept. 11, 2007
- Repeal Chapter 40B, ShrewS Buried, Oct. 11, 2007
- YouTube, REPEAL 40B - Inspector General testifies about the failures of the Chapter 40B Law (Affordable Housing)
