Where local democracy offers hope for resilience
Upzone Update offers analysis of MBTA-C compliance efforts, produced by zoning expert Amy Dain and the staff of Boston Indicators. Scroll to the bottom for a listing of news coverage and upcoming events.
This week's newsletter is by Amy Dain.
Many people are feeling distress and fear this week. It isn’t just the stakes of American democracy, but also the hot November air of climate change, the world’s wars, the stark vulnerabilities of humanity.
One thing critical for human resilience is social connection. I have spent time pondering how the built environment influences social capital, especially during our era’s rise of loneliness. In recent weeks, as I’ve watched planning boards, town meetings, and city councils discuss MBTA Communities zoning, I’ve noticed that municipal governments are an amazing nexus of social connection.
Over the decades, Americans have been joining fewer clubs. Church attendance has plummeted. People are making fewer friends than in the past. Covid obviously compounded social isolation. Now I see that local politics is one important antidote to disconnection. Our municipal boards, councils, task forces, and legislative structures are robust social institutions complete with rituals, ceremonies, celebrations, meetings, and leadership roles.
I have been so impressed with the quality of leadership I have seen across communities. At Ipswich Town Meeting, representatives of the select board, finance committee, school committee, and planning board showed deep understanding of the complex issues involved in MBTA Communities zoning. They respectfully articulated their group’s majority and minority positions, informing hundreds of their gathered neighbors, the decision-makers.
Often I am in the role of critiquing local government, and there is plenty to critique. But, the goodness I have seen there recently has been quite moving. The feeling is similar to when I watch the Boston Marathon every year. The endeavors involve a lot of people, hard work, and endurance.
This fall, I’ve been sitting in on Framingham’s discussions of zoning reform. The chairs of the planning board and city council have shown tremendous skill and grace in facilitating contentious, long meetings. They set a tone not just of civility but of empathy, kindness, and humor. They listen actively, for hours. They share their priorities and values, and move discussions along productively. People serving on the planning board and city council have offered diverse, important insights, as have so many members of the public.
I hope the strength of our civic communities and social networks carry everyone safely through challenging times.
With this introduction, I will share a short case study of Framingham’s zoning reform efforts. Framingham’s leadership, across decades, should inspire all of us to do our part in addressing the housing shortage and traffic crisis.
A lesson from Framingham: We all need to do our part
In 1954, Framingham’s Planning Board considered a proposal to increase minimum lot sizes, as a response to the post-war building boom. Most of Boston’s suburbs were doing it. Framingham’s Board rejected the trend and issued a statement: “Framingham does not want to exclude the working man, and the young couples who want a home.” Large lot requirements make housing scarce and expensive.
Unlike its neighbors Wayland, Sudbury, Southborough, and Sherborn, Framingham zoned liberally for multifamily housing. Between 1961 and 1971, Framingham welcomed more than 7,000 apartments.
Framingham’s multifamily building boom ended with Greater Boston’s 1970s Big Downzone that launched the era of housing shortage and home price escalation. But, by the 2010s, Framingham’s leaders stepped up to rezone for more homes, especially in its historic transit-served, amenity-rich, walkable downtown and other centers. Soon, more than 1,000 new homes were in the construction pipeline, homes people need, in a great place to live.
Now Framingham’s City Council is considering a proposal for MBTA Communities zoning, to create zoning districts in the historic downtown, by Route 9, and in Saxonville and Nobscot centers. The proposal goes beyond “paper compliance,” to allow for new housing. Hearings have been going late into the night, diverse perspectives shared.
Some residents have suggested that Framingham has done its part providing the region with housing. It is an understandable reading of the region’s history, and of Framingham’s leadership.
But the work of cities doesn’t end. Vital metropolises don’t go into retirement like a person who has labored for decades, having done their part. And housing well-planned, well-built, and abundant is not a burden; it is the mission, the meaning, the social contract. It is the American Dream.
Framingham City Council Chair Philip Ottaviani Jr. said at this week’s City Council meeting, “Every piece of Framingham needs to do their part, and that’s what I’m gonna end up voting for.” He was talking about an approach to MBTA Communities compliance that places multifamily as-of-right districts in several parts of Framingham. “We all need to do our part, all of us,” he emphasized, speaking directly to Framingham, with words that should reverberate across the wider region.
The local democratic process is bringing a spotlight to development challenges in Framingham that are also the responsibility of the Commonwealth. As one resident testified, “Everywhere in Framingham, the traffic is terrible.”
In Nobscot village, one potential node of rezoning, it is obvious the center needs “aggressive expansion of walkability” and optimization of intersection geometry, as a 2015 planning report pointed out. Nobscot has all of the elements of a great village center, except it is a pedestrian nightmare of pavement and risk, where cars are either gridlocked or speeding, road rage the vibe. Zoning reform must be paired with infrastructure upgrades; growth can be leveraged for this, financially and politically.
Framingham’s historic downtown is overall much better for pedestrians. But Waverly Street welcomes Boston Marathon runners more graciously than it does local pedestrians. Waverly’s narrow sidewalks are largely unprotected by street trees, abut many parking lots, and suffer long curb cuts. Sewer capacity is another issue downtown. As is a train crossing that holds up traffic right where people are on the move. The solution to overwhelming challenges with mobility and infrastructure cannot be a housing shortage.
At a recent City Council meeting, Framingham resident and city planner Sarkis Sarkisian explained, “This city was way ahead of the game when it came to housing. What I have heard for the last six months, ‘Why does Framingham have to do more?’”
He answered the question, “We have a serious housing crisis in this state.” This crisis is an opportunity. The solution is not to deny development, but to harness it, for the good of the Commonwealth and the people of Framingham.
News Roundup
Northeastern Global News mentions MBTA Communities zoning in the national context of a housing market short millions of homes.
The Eagle-Tribune offers an editorial for housing: “All communities should be finding ways to add more units, as the cost of housing in Massachusetts, already among the most expensive in the country, continues to rise.” The piece quotes Governor Maura Healey, "I want people thriving in Massachusetts. That's what I want, but housing and the lack of affordable housing is getting in our way."
The Boston Globe covered the Mass Black Expo, a conference hosted by the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts. At the event, Emilio Dorcely, chief executive of Urban Edge, suggested the MBTA Communities Act should increase the options people of color have to become homeowners and build wealth.
Winthrop Working Together published a Letter-to-the-Editor of the Winthrop Transcript: “we are dedicated to fostering a community that is compassionate, inclusive, and pragmatic in addressing the challenges our town faces.” The group supports compliance with MBTA Communities.
Newton needs to make a couple of small changes to its zoning to be in full compliance with MBTA Communities. The Heights at Boston College reports, “According to the official letter from the state, Newton needs to clarify language regarding the compliance process for buildings constructed prior to the new zoning ordinance and needs to remove the special permit requirements on retaining walls--walls that hold back soil on a slope--over four feet tall.”
The Hopkinton Independent reports that Hopkinton’s Planning Board heard feedback on a proposal to add three overlay districts to the zoning, for MBTA Communities compliance. Residents of condos within the proposed districts expressed particular concern and there was a sense that neighbors were being pitted against each other. Hopkinton Town Meeting narrowly defeated a proposal in May that included a portion of the downtown area, The Preserve condo complex, the Carbone’s Restaurant property and two adjacent parcels. Two options now under consideration also include the downtown area, with tweaks to the boundaries. One proposal contains the Indian Brook condo complex; the other includes the Walcott Valley condo complex. At the meeting, another option was proposed, to include a smaller downtown area, The Preserve and Walcott Valley. Some condo residents expressed fears about potential displacement, although they would have to sell their own properties to become displaced. They worried that the overlay district would eventually lead to government taking their properties by eminent domain for redevelopment. In reality, these properties were chosen for partial “paper compliance” to reduce buildout after rezoning.
Patch reports that Andover has been awarded a $148,000 grant through the MassWorks Infrastructure Program to support a sewer evaluation for the River Road industrial corridor. The area includes the new MBTA Communities zoning district.
The Sun Chronicle reports that Attleboro received a $419,500 grant for the Union Theater Revival Project, but the city must adopt MBTA Communities zoning by December to receive the grant. The grant is part of the Underutilized Property Program.
Gloucester Daily Times reports that Middleton received a $2 million grant from the MassWorks Infrastructure Program for improvements at the intersection of Routes 114 and 62. However, the town may lose the grant if it does not come into compliance with MBTA Communities by the end of the year.
The Community Advocate offers an update on Shrewsbury’s zoning reform effort: “A previous plan put the town’s MBTA zoning near the old Christmas Tree Shops. However, town leaders later settled on a 118-acre, contiguous site along Route 20 that includes three main parcels: Shrewsbury Commons, 409 South Street, and Emerald Run. Shrewsbury Commons is a preexisting development, while 409 South and Emerald Run are both proposed 40B projects, totaling 498 combined units. Though the zoning could technically accommodate 1,512 units, residents can expect significantly less development given the pre-existing buildings in the proposed zone.” The planning director said potential buildout of new units would be approximately 426.
Mark Borenstein shares his opinion in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “What does it matter if we have the best schools if our children and grandchildren have to move to the Midwest or the South to afford their first home?”
The Town Crier reports on zoning reform in Wilmington. In the West Street subdistrict, three stories would be allowed, and two parking spaces required per unit. The area on Burlington Avenue would only cover a parcel built with apartments. The Deming Way subdistrict would include existing senior housing. The Main Street district would allow up to three stories, including one story of commercial, and require 1.25 parking spaces per unit.
The Boston Globe looks at construction levels in Greater Boston, and the role of interest rates: “The Federal Reserve. Higher interest rates have been a big factor in slowing construction, but the Fed in September cut the critical federal funds rate for the first time since August 2023. And it has signaled more cuts are coming.”
Lynnfield Town Meeting will take up MBTA Communities.
Wakefield Town Meeting will also take up MBTA Communities.
Duxbury Town Meeting will also take up MBTA Communities. The select board was split in its support. The proposed zoning districts include the existing Island Creek housing development on Route 3A and undeveloped land at Bongi’s Turkey Farm off of Route 53.
Wrentham is holding a public forum on MBTA Communities.