Marblehead has crafted a zoning model with three new multifamily housing districts in an effort to comply with a controversial state mandate.
The Massachusetts law requires certain “MBTA communities” located near public transit to allow multiunit housing by right. Marblehead falls into the “adjacent community” category due to its proximity to commuter rail stops in Salem and Swampscott. To meet its obligations, the town must rezone at least 27 acres for multifamily housing at densities of at least 15 units per acre. Failure to comply could result in loss of state funding and invite legal challenges under fair housing laws, according to Town Planner Becky Cutting, who is overseeing the rezoning effort.
“We have to participate. No one likes a mandate, we certainly don’t,” said Cutting at a Jan. 16 Planning Board meeting. “But since there is one, we’ve been exploring how we might be able to comply with it in a way that might benefit Marblehead.”
The town hosted public forums and focus groups to develop its proposal, which goes before the Town Meeting for a vote in May. The three districts proposed include the following:
— The Tioga Way district spans 28.3 acres with a capacity for 483 housing units at an average density of 19.2 units per acre.
—The Pleasant Street district covers 20.2 acres with room for 297 units at 14.7 units per acre.
— The Broughton Road district encompasses 6.1 acres that can support 119 units at 19.5 units per acre average density.
Together the districts include 54.7 acres. With 51.5 acres available for development, the plan allows 899 total new units at 17.5 dwellings per acre.
“This model complies with state law,” Cutting said. “We crafted it to give the town credit for some of the multifamily (housing) we already have at this density and greater.”
The state law, known as MBTA zoning or multifamily zoning, was passed by the Legislature in 2021 and requires approximately 177 communities served by the MBTA to have at least one district allowing multifamily housing by right at minimum densities.
Cutting provided examples showing that just because an area is rezoned, it does not necessarily mean immediate development will occur:
— The Vinnin Square Smart Growth Zone was adopted in 2009, but the first application did not occur until 2022, 13 years later.
— Incentive Zoning bylaw allowing increased density townwide was passed in 1990. Over 30 years later, there has only been one application to date with a project that was just completed in 2021.
— Marblehead is currently subject to Chapter 40B state affordable housing rules. While this law has existed since 1969, the town has only permitted four 40B developments, two of which have been constructed.
While the zoning change requires a two-thirds majority at May Town Meeting, Planning Board Chair Robert Schaeffner downplayed expectations of a development surge.
“When you really think about if you break it down and look at any particular parcel, it’s so unlikely, in fact, it just, there’s not a ton of incentive in this kind of zoning density for people to tear anything down and rebuild it,” he said.
Planning Board member Barton Hyte emphasized the incremental rollout. He believes that development on the properties is “certainly not going to be in our lifetimes.”
“It’s all hypothetical,” he stressed. “This is 100% hypothetical.”
Some residents, like James Full, still voiced reservations about future ripple effects.
“What about my children’s lifetimes?” he asked the board. “Once this is in place, the state’s going to come back and ask for more and more.”
Xhazzie Kindle questioned whether the zoning would revive downtown shops and restaurants to make Marblehead “a walkable, livable community. So if we pass this, will it be easier for Marblehead residents and others to create the sort of community where people really can walk downtown to a destination and have something to do and somewhere to go?”
Cutting responded that adding housing downtown in theory would help support businesses.
Resident Greg Thibodeau worried about costs associated with upgrading infrastructure and services to accommodate new residents. Cutting replied that department heads didn’t see any capacity issues in the chosen districts.
“This process is simply putting zoning in place for as-of-right multifamily housing. There are no proposed projects as part of this process,” said Molly Oberndorf, a consultant on the zoning project. “It’s just one step in, you know, a much longer process to create an opportunity to provide more housing and not only in Marblehead but in the state of Massachusetts as a whole.”
To mitigate traffic, the proposal places two districts along bus routes and encompasses some already-developed areas. But surveying more than 100 attendees at a November forum, the Planning Department listed “traffic impact” as the top concern among potential “challenges and problems.”
In developing the model, the town tried to minimize potential traffic impacts by:
— Locating two of the districts on existing bus routes to encourage public transit use.
— Putting one district in the downtown business area to allow more walkability.
— Incorporating smart growth incentives like bike racks and parking for shared cars.
— Including some areas like Tioga Way that are already developed, limiting open space being repurposed.
“We don’t really have any options here, so there’s been plenty of opportunities for people to get engaged,” Planning Board member Marc J. Liebman said. “I know you said there’s only 50 or 60 people on this meeting. We’ve had several [public meetings]; everybody’s invited. There’s no limit to how many people can attend these.”
He added: “We’re just doing the best that we can with the information we have to not get into a very costly legal battle with a state that we have no ability to see through.”
