The Planning Board moved Monday to integrate affordability requirements into the multifamily zoning proposal for Town Meeting in May.
Pending approval from town counsel, the Planning Board voted 4-1 to mandate that 10% of any new developments with six or more units in the new MBTA zoning districts — which Town Meeting will weigh in on — be set aside for those meeting the area median income (AMI) threshold.
Affordable units make up only 3.9% of all housing in Marblehead, far short of the 10% mandated by the state.
According to Town Planner Becky Cutting on Jan. 23, the state law requiring certain MBTA communities to allow multifamily housing does not mandate affordable housing. Towns may decide to add affordable requirements capped at 80% AMI.
Marblehead’s AMI limits for affordable housing eligibility are:
— 1 person: $86,050
— 2 people: $98,350
— 3 people: $110,650
— 4 people: $122,900
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.
The law requires Marblehead, an “adjacent community” to commuter rail stops, to rezone at least 27 acres for multifamily housing at minimum densities of 15 units per acre. Failure to comply could result in lost state funding and fair housing lawsuits according Cutting, who oversees the rezoning.
Just days earlier, the Planning Board proposed three new multifamily districts:
— Tioga Way: 28.3 acres, capacity for 483 units at 19.2 units per acre
— Pleasant Street: 20.2 acres, capacity for 297 units at 14.7 units per acre
— Broughton Road: 6.1 acres, capacity for 119 units at 19.5 units per acre
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.
The Planning Board also voted on keeping off-street parking at two spaces per new unit for the Pleasant Street zone, passing on a 4 to 1 vote. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the warrant article in April.
