Planning Board Holds Public Hearing on MBTA Communities Act

FRAMINGHAM - A public hearing regarding the MBTA Communities Act was held by the Framingham Planning Board at the Memorial Building on Thursday, April 25.

The Planning Board held the session as a way to accept comments on the matter and to initiate a process to ensure that the city is meeting state standards.

The MBTA Communities Act requires that any city or town with MBTA service must have at least one district of zoning with multi-family housing permitted as of right. The legislation does not require anything to be built. The minimum gross density of the area mandated by the act is 15 units per acre, as the zoning in question must not be further than a half mile from a commuter rail station, bus station, subway station, or ferry terminal.

Framingham is currently in line with the act, though city officials have noted that the city could be out of compliance by the start of 2025. Noncompliance could result in a loss of state funding for local programs and initiatives.

Still, members of the Planning Board expressed confidence that a solution to the matter would be reached in the near future.

“Everybody reacting to the MBTA Communities Act should probably sit down and take a deep breath,” board member Mitchell Matorin said during Thursday night’s meeting.

“Given what we’ve inherited from town meeting in terms of the zoning and the density that it allows, the density that is required by the state is much, much lower.”

Comments from the public related to concerns such as maintaining the downtown area’s character, keeping the housing density of Framingham sustainable, and ensuring that developers will not overflow downtown with too many projects after the city approves MBTA-compliant zoning.

“I am as strong of a housing proponent as anyone and I think we need it,” community member Karen Margolis told the Planning Board, “but I think we need it to be done right, or else everyone is going to hate what’s built.”

A study by students from Northeastern University was presented to the board prior to the public comment portion of the meeting. That group consulted with zoning experts to outline how Framingham can work towards compliance with the MBTA Communities Act and its zoning requirements. The group from Northeastern added that they will be working through the summer to develop more specific strategies and garner additional feedback from the community.

The Planning Board said they would work with other city officials to provide more specifics on decisions related to the MBTA law in the coming months.