[EDITOR’S NOTE: The editor of Abington News is a member of the Planning Board and been involved in these discussions. This article has been written using the best journalistic practices, and efforts were made to present a full picture of this complicated issue, but that underlying conflict should be noted.]
Town Meeting voters will be asked to approve a new multi-family zoning district near the MBTA commuter rail station that encompasses an area that is already home to existing or permitted large-scale housing developments.
The proposed zoning district would span the three 40B projects located near the rail station and across Summer Street, leaving the abutting residential areas unchanged.
“After discussion at our last meeting the Abington Planning Board agreed that the area shown in the draft 3A map makes sense for the zoning district because we feel that it meets the requirements of the 3A legislation,” Planning Board Chairman Bruce Hughes said back in December.
A state law passed in 2020 requires cities and towns with MBTA service to create zoning districts near transit stations where developers can build multi-family housing “by right,” or without requiring special permissions from municipal permitting boards. Communities that fail to adopt new zoning districts would become ineligible for a host of state grants, and likely face legal action by the state Attorney General.
The Town of Milton, which approved a zoning district at a special Town Meeting last year only to have it tossed out during a special election in January, has already been notified by the state they are losing state grants. Attorney General Andrea Campbell is seeking permission from the courts to appoint a special master to draw a zoning district on that town’s behalf.
The law was passed back in 2021 in an effort to generate new residential housing in Massachusetts, which has seen housing prices soar as demand far exceeds supply. A recent study found that Massachusetts ranks 42nd in the number of new homes being permitted per capita.
Critics say one reason housing growth has slowed in recent decades is that communities have been allowed to put in place restrictive zoning rules that force housing developers to overcome additional permitting and procedural hurdles.
To meet the requirements of the new state law, which is known as Section 3A, communities must create a zoning district at least 50 acres in size capable of holding at least 15 units of housing per acre within a 1/2 mile of a transit stop. Portions of the district can be located outside the 1/2 mile radius if people can easily walk or bike to the T stop.
Abington has to submit a draft plan to the state by Dec. 31, 2024. State housing officials have already seen a draft of Abington’s proposed district and given their blessing, according to Town Planner Liz Shea.
The town’s Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee have voted to support the proposed zoning district. Those boards usually defer recommendations on zoning articles to the Planning Board, but weighed in due to the financial impacts of not complying.
Hughes said, unlike other nearby communities, Abington had previously taken steps to allow denser housing development near its commuter rail station, which is located at the site of a former tree nursery between Centre Avenue and Summer Street.
Town Meeting adopted “smart-growth” zoning rules more than 15 years ago to encourage multi-unit housing developments near its commuter rail station. A handful of small townhouse complexes have been built under the town’s Transit Oriented Development zoning bylaw in the years since.
The Woodlands, a 192-unit 40B development, was built at 303 Summer Street across from the train station in 2002. And a 10-unit apartment building located next to the Woodlands at 351 Summer Street opened in 2021.
The Abington Zoning Board of Appeals has also approved a 198-unit 40B project next to the commuter rail station’s Summer Street entrance, and a 144-unit 40B project off Plymouth Street, which runs down behind the town Senior Center. Neither of those projects has yet to break ground.
Under the Planning Board’s draft plan, the multi-family zoning district would sit on top of those four properties, which amounts to just over 60 acres of land. The proposed district also includes the commuter rail station parking lot, the Abington Senior Center, and a pair or properties on Summer Street across from the station entrance.
Nobody spoke at recent Planning Board meetings in favor of or against the draft zoning plan. However, Summer Street residents have pushed back in recent years against proposed development along the corridor, which has become an increasingly popular cut through between Routes 58 and 18. The intersection of Rt. 58 and Summer Street has also been the location of several severe car crashes the past few years.
The state law doesn’t require that new multi-family developments actually be constructed within the new zoning districts — just that they would be allowed by right.
Unlike with 40B projects, which are allowed to shortcut the local permitting process and seek a comprehensive permit issued by the zoning board, multi-family developments proposed in the new district would still need to go through the traditional local permitting process. Developers would also be on the hook for infrastructure upgrades needed to absorb the new housing, state officials have said.
Abington’s proposed zoning language requires developments of 10 units or more to make 10 percent of the units “affordable,” sets architectural design guidelines, and limits structures to three stories.
“Voters at Town Meeting should vote to adopt the Planning Board’s recommendation because it will best meet the state requirements for expanded housing opportunities in town,” Hughes said.
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