FRAMINGHAM - As officials prepare for public hearings regarding the MBTA Communities Act, the Framingham City Council continued the conversation regarding the state legislation during their meeting on Tuesday, October 1.

The city’s Planning Board will be holding a public hearing on October 17, while the City Council will hold their own hearing for residents on October 29.

The MBTA Communities Act mandates that multi-family housing zoning has to be created as of right within municipalities featuring MBTA service. The law doesn’t outright require that anything has to be built. Framingham could fall out of compliance with the act by the end of 2024, potentially putting the city at risk of losing state funding for local projects.

The full City Council meeting came in the wake of the meeting of the City Council’s Planning and Zoning Subcommittee on September 23. During that hearing, members of the council heard details on the latest proposal from the Planning Board; the Planning Board can pitch any ideas to local legislators on the matter, but the City Council has the ultimate authority to approve, reject, or amend any provisions that would comply with the MBTA Communities Act.

The most recent Planning Board proposal features a consistent density of 30 units per acre across multiple zoning districts across Framingham, with a total of 4,596 units zoned for. Those districts are mapped out in the downtown area, along with Saxonville, Nobscot, Shoppers World, 9-90, and Speen Street. The state law dictates that 40% of the units in these MBTA-compliant districts have to be within a half mile of MBTA service.

A sticking point during that September 23 meeting was the Planning Board’s proposal to increase the density within Saxonville and Nobscot from 15 units per acre up to that mark of 30 units per acre while simultaneously bringing density down to 30 units per acre downtown. That change was made in attempt to relieve pressure from the downtown neighborhood, according to Director of Planning and Community Development for Framingham Sarkis Sarkisian during that subcommittee meeting.

Multiple residents joined Planning and Zoning Subcommittee member and District 1 City Councilor Christine Long on September 23 in voicing their disapproval of increased zoning density within Saxonville and Nobscot, a refrain that was reiterated during the most recent hearing. Long said on Tuesday she originally thought the MBTA zoning process would result in downzoning, not upzoning in Saxonville and Nobscot. She added that she anticipates changes coming to the plan, as she doesn’t anticipate that the City Council will vote in favor of the Planning Board’s current recommendations.

Those sentiments were echoed on Tuesday by District 3 City Council member and Nobscot resident Adam Steiner, who called the current plan laid before the City Council “a piece of garbage” that he would want the legislative group to send back to the Planning Board.

“To me, it’s just outrageous that we were presented a bill of goods—that we were going to have a plan that worked for the city as a whole—and then, at the last minute, we’re handed this,” Steiner said.

“That would destroy the neighborhood where I live, where a lot of people live.”

Steiner mentioned that Framingham officials should look at solutions that provide the “least detrimental impact” while still complying with the law and still putting an emphasis on public transportation.

City Council member for District 8 Leslie White Harvey later said her constituents are worried about additional housing density within the downtown area. She called for, potentially, even less density in that part of the city as part of the MBTA Communities Act plan.

“It’s only right for some of the housing to move to other places…I understand that downtowns are denser, just like in Boston, but we have to share it,” White Harvey continued.

About a dozen residents spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, with most people primarily opposed to the pitch to increase zoning density in the Saxonville and Nobscot districts in question due to potential factors like over-development and traffic congestion. Some speakers brought up the fact that Framingham has already made strides in recent years to accommodate for more housing prior to the signing of the MBTA Communities Act—contending that the state should formally recognize local efforts on that front—while others brought up alternative solutions to the matter, such as increasing the tax rate to discourage developments or bringing the issue to court by legally contesting the state.

Long said she doesn’t believe an outright rejection to the state through the legal system would work out for Framingham—she expressed skepticism regarding Milton’s ongoing case in court against the state and the MBTA Communities Act—though she explained that the Planning and Zoning Subcommittee has already scheduled multiple meetings in the near future to look at the current plan for the city and to modify it.

City Council Chair Phil Ottaviani of District 6 joined other councilors like At-Large member George King and Noval Alexander of District 5 in stressing the need for compliance through an equitable and creative plan that would benefit the entire city while going about the process as respectful as possible. District 2 City Councilor Brandon Ward, similarly, called for additional choices to be laid out before the legislative body reaches a final decision.

“The overlay district that’s proposed between Livoli and Edmonds and Edgell is, really, a non-stater,” Ward said.

“But if we want to talk about Nobscot, what are some other options? I’m not saying ‘no’ to everything; let’s just have a conversation about what’s reasonable.”

Ottaviani said he anticipates decisions on the MBTA Communities Act plan being made during their October 29 meeting.