FAQ

    • The MBTA Communities Law is a bipartisan law passed by the Massachusetts state legislature and signed by then-Gov. Charlie Baker in January 2021 to address the regional housing crisis affecting metropolitan Boston.

    • It requires 177 towns served by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, including Reading, to adopt zoning that allows as of right development of multi-family housing in districts within half a mile of commuter rail, subway and bus stations, and ferry terminals.

    • The law requires that districts be at least 50 acres, allow at least 15 units per acre, be suitable for families with children, and carry no age restrictions.

    • “Multi-family housing” means a building with 3 or more residential dwelling units or 2 or more buildings on the same lot with more than 1 residential dwelling unit in each building.

    • Massachusetts has among the highest and fastest-growing home prices and rents of any state in the nation.

    • These high costs are pricing families out of communities, preventing older adults from downsizing, creating challenges for local employers, and causing many people to move to other states where housing is more affordable.

    • Our regional housing crisis results from multiple factors, including inadequate housing supply and exclusionary zoning by suburban Boston communities.

    • Increasing the diversity of housing units can provide right-size, affordable housing in Reading to:

      • Enable older adults to downsize while remaining in their community

      • Provide a path for teachers, police, and others with community-oriented jobs to live in Reading without undue financial burden

      • Allow younger residents to remain in Reading close to family and friends, preserving community

    • Adoption will allow Reading to move closer to goals already stated in the Reading Master Plan, including housing diversity, affordable units, and a proactive housing policy.

    • We believe the Business-D (Main Street) option provides the best overall benefit to Reading. This option provides for housing diversity connected to downtown which will benefit residents and businesses.

    • This plan preserves Reading’s residential neighborhoods. Reading’s Community Planning and Development Commission (CPDC) has taken great care to put forward a plan that will preserve single-family homes consistent with feedback provided during the planning process.

    • This option supports downtown local businesses. Support for current and future businesses helps promote a vibrant downtown and can help to grow the town's tax base.

    • Growth will be connected to downtown and the train station, reducing the need for car dependency in new developments.

    • No, the A-80 Expansion option does not prevent growth. While neither option dictates or prevents development, zoning under the A-80 option would allow additional units to be built in the A-80 districts with increased lot coverage [A-80 Proposed].

    • The A-80 option promotes larger, disconnected developments within the town than does the South Main Street option. This limits the benefit to local businesses and increases the likelihood that more cars will be required for each unit built.

    • While Reading does have aspects of the intent of the law already captured in its zoning, they do not meet the required combination of unit capacity, density, and acreage.

    • Reading is required to zone for a minimum of 1,493 units at a gross density of 15 units per acre across a minimum of 43 acres, of which at least half of the units and acreage must be within a half-mile of the train depot. Examples of development at 15 units per acre can be found at: MPAC Visualization.

    • The law does not mandate construction of any new housing.

    • It does not dictate what type of multi-family housing may be permitted under new zoning.

    • It does not override Reading’s site plan review process.

    • It does not open the floodgates for developers to start tearing down single-family homes.  In fact, town officials are carefully developing plans to avoid tear-downs.

    • The law does not mandate construction of housing, and development is expected to take place over an extended period of time.

    • The impact of development in the proposed areas has been considered by the town. Per the CPDC website, it is not expected that infrastructure upgrades would be needed in the near future [Reading 3A].

    • Realistic estimates of population increase due to the adoption of the zoning plan are on the order of 300 residents, compared to a total population of 25,510 residents from the latest census.

    • There is no indication that school enrollment will exceed the capacity of our schools [MAPC study], and between 2017 and 2022 school enrollment in the town decreased by over 10%.

    • Communities that fail to comply will not be eligible for funds from the Housing Choice Initiative, the Local Capital Projects Fund, or the MassWorks infrastructure program. Reading has recently received the following grants from these programs:

      • $2.6M MassWorks grant for the Haven Street Streetscape project

      • $250k Housing Choice grant for Walkers Brook Drive corridor planning 

      • $500k MassWorks Infrastructure grant for Walkers Brook corridor improvements

      In addition, Reading has received the following recent grants from programs that will take MBTA Communities Act (MBTACA) compliance into consideration:

      • $2.1M Municipal Vulnerability Program grant for the Maillet Sommes Morgan land

      • $100k Community Planning grant for the Eastern Gateway project

      • $95k Community Planning grant to study MBTACA compliance options

      • $60k Downtown Initiative grant to support a Local Rapid Recovery economic plan during COVID

      • $25k Downtown Initiative grant to create an Arts and Culture plan

      That is a total of $3.35M in recent grants that would have been directly tied to MBTACA compliance plus another $2.38M in recent grants where non-compliance might have prevented Reading from getting the grant.

    • In March 2023 State Attorney General Campbell additionally clarified that failure to comply will result in civil enforcement action or liability under federal and state fair housing laws; that is, the state will sue municipalities that do not comply [AG Advisory].

    • Town Meeting will vote on changes to Reading’s zoning bylaws at the meeting that starts on November 12 and continues on the evenings of November 14, November 18, and November 21 (if needed). The proposed bylaw changes will likely start to be discussed on November 14.

    • The Town Meeting agenda (the “warrant”) contains two proposed sets of bylaw changes:

      • Article 16 proposes minimal compliance with the MBTA Communities Act via zoning changes to downtown and Main Street.

      • Article 17 proposes minimal compliance via zoning changes to downtown as well as apartment complex areas on the edges of town (A-80 Expansion).

    • If Article 16 (Main Street) passes, then Article 17 (A-80 Expansion) will not be considered.

  • The town website has an excellent collection of information with a focus on Reading. Broader information can be found on the State website. Links to both are below.

    The town has also hosted information sessions ahead of Town Meeting. The presentation and recorded information session can be found below: