Smart growth zoning for housing supply in Massachusetts: Community response to chapter 40R and 40S

Massachusetts housing is among the least affordable in the nation. Reports have warned that skilled workers are leaving the state because of high housing costs. In partial response to these concerns, the state has passed two pieces of legislation to create a surplus of zoned land for single and multi-family homes in smart growth locations at relatively higher densities with the hope of encouraging the development of housing in Massachusetts.;Chapter 40R was enacted in June 2004 by the state to provide monetary incentives to communities that designate a zoning overlay district (Chapter 40R district) and allow as--of-right densities of at least 8 units per acre for single family homes, 12 units per acre for two and three family homes, and 20 units per acre for multi-family homes. Chapter 40S was passed in November 2005 to create the Smart Growth School Cost Reimbursement Fund to provide partial reimbursement for educational costs resulting from new development in Chapter 40R districts. As of October 2008, 24 communities had created Chapter 40R districts which ultimately could provide as-of-right zoning for nearly 9,000 units of housing, at least 20 percent of which would be affordable to households earning less than 80 percent of the area median income in their communities.;At this point in time, it is useful to determine what community characteristics matter to the adoption of Chapter 40R. Who are the adopters? Who are not, and why? More specifically, this study will investigate two major questions: What demographic or socio-economic characteristics matter to the adoption of Chapter 40R? Why have some communities adopted and others not? Logistic regression analysis of 115 communities was carried out, and officials from 10 communities, five Chapter 40R-adopting and five non-adopting, were interviewed to answer these questions.;My research found that the adoption of Chapter 40R largely depends upon the provision of town planners in communities, the selection of politically less-sensitive sites, communities' awareness of Chapter 40R advantages, communities' confidence in the state's ability to fund Chapter 40R and the availability of water and sewer in communities.