What is Chapter 40B?
Chapter 40B is a section of the Massachusetts legal code, enacted in 1969 and revised in 2008, which aims to address the shortage of affordable housing.
How does it work?
It allows developers to propose projects that would otherwise be precluded by local zoning, gives local Zoning Boards of Appeal increased flexibility to approve such projects, and provides for further appeal to a State Housing Appeals Committee when the affordable housing stock in community is below a defined lower limit and recent progress to increase it has not been adequate.
What makes a project Chapter 40B eligible?
The following criteria must be met:
- At least 25% of the units must be affordable by households earning no more that 80% of the area’s median income, or at least 20% be affordable by households earning no more that 50% of the area’s median income, with these affordability constraints maintained for at least 30 years;
- Monitoring by a public agency or non-profit organization;
- A maximum limit on the developer’s profit;
- Marketing of the units according to an approved affirmative marketing plan.
What does this have to do with Racial Justice?
While Chapter 40B’s primary thrust is affordable housing, independent of race, it does in fact act to increase racial diversity in communities in which Chapter 40B projects have been built, thereby helping to remedy the detrimental effect of racial segregation in Massachusetts demographics. The lack of affordable housing in areas of high opportunity (e.g., for jobs and good education) such as suburban communities, serves as a significant obstacle to racial integration. Chapter 40B’s requirement for affirmative marketing of its affordable units has led to racial integration of its projects.
What are the issues with Chapter 40B?
Chapter 40B is a state imposition on local zoning decision-making, and proposed projects are often met with vehement neighborhood opposition and subsequent development delay. A long delay can make a project economically unviable. Also, some developers, anticipating opposition regardless of merit and a negotiation process with the local Zoning Board, may initially make a proposal that pushes the bounds of an appropriate design for a site, hoping to settle on a reduced compromise. In other words, to avoid failure in executing projects under this worthwhile program, calm reason and analysis must overcome emotion.
