ROCKPORT — Alan Battistelli and his fellow Zoning Board of Appeals members said the Planning Board’s effort to create an MBTA housing district in town may have missed the mark.
There is no specific consideration for affordable housing in the zoning articles to be presented for consideration by Monday’s Special Town Meeting, said Battistelli, chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
And which board, Planning or Zoning, should have jurisdiction is up for debate, he said.
“The chair of the Planning Board (Jason Shaw) is aware the Board of Appeals is not supportive of the Planning Board being the board that is handling the MBTA district,” Battistelli said. “We’re also unhappy that there is no affordable housing element in the bylaw.”
“We realize there’s a clock ticking,” he said. “We just want the two boards to walk in together at Town Meeting with the warrant articles we favor. We decided that we unanimously do not want to see the Planning Board try to practice zoning. We believe strongly the ZBA should be practicing zoning.”
Shaw said the both the Zoning and Planning Boards want a component in the town bylaw before Town Meeting that addresses an affordable housing. Any amendments to be made to the measure will probably be offered by the Rockport Affordable Housing Trust.
“We certainly have a desire to have a certain percentage of family units as affordable housing,” he said. “We understand that. We are on the same page. It’s more a matter of timing and scope.”
No controversy exists between Shaw’s board and the Zoning Board.
“Site plan review is under the Planning Board’s jurisdiction,” he said. “We felt it would be more efficient and more cohesive with one board overseeing the article.”
However, meeting Wednesday night, the Zoning Board voted 4-0 to support a move to create an ad-hoc committee to direct Rockport’s MBTA housing plan.
The ad-hoc group could be made up of two members each from the Zoning and Planning Boards, and the Rockport building inspector, Battistelli said.
The state has imposed a Dec. 31 deadline for MBTA communities like Rockport to present their plans for an MBTA housing district.
The articles
Special Town Meeting on Monday will consider Articles A and B, both related the state’s new multi-family zoning requirement for MBTA Communities.
Article A is a multi-item measure that includes questions about amending the zoning bylaws and the “Transit-Oriented Village Overlay District” (TOVOD).
Article B is aimed at creating a multi-family overlay district near the MBTA train station off Railroad Avenue by amending zoning bylaws.
The new MBTA Communities Zoning Act requires that an MBTA community, like Rockport, have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right and meets other criteria set forth in the statute:
— There must be a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre.
— The district must be located not more than a half mile from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal or bus station, if applicable.
— No age restrictions can be made and the housing must be suitable for families with children.
The planning measures regarding the creation of a new MBTA housing district, while well intended, fall short of what is needed for Rockport, Battistelli said.
“We don’t want to get a multi-family district created without the responsibility of some affordable housing,” he said. “The affordable housing component is not written into the warrant article. It doesn’t mandate that there would be 10% affordable.”
A motion may be made on the Town Meeting floor to attempt to modify or amend the proposed multi-family district to add multi-family housing, Battistelli said.
“Right now, there’s zero affordable in the bylaw,” he said. “I believe that without it, we shouldn’t do this.”
Timing for affordable housing aspect of measure
Shaw suggested a consultant may be hired in the near future to advise all town boards about the nature of the proposed MBTA housing district. He said the consultant being considered has not yet been hired but that talks were taking place to sign a possible contract.
It would be prudent to wait until fall Special Town Meeting to address the affordable housing aspect of the MBTA housing measure.
“We’ll have a consultant who will be working with all boards,” he said. “It’s not a controversy at all. We’re all on the same page. It’s more a matter of do you want something now where things are incomplete, or should we wait until the fall? We’d have a more complete picture and a more complete bylaw.”
For his part, Battistelli said the Zoning Board will likely make a separate motion to move jurisdiction of the MBTA zoning district from the Planning Board to the Zoning Board, which he believes is appropriate.
“Otherwise, you have two boards making decisions in the same neighborhood,” he said. “One of the first things we do is teach our members how to write up these legal decisions and they stand up in court.”
Of the five-member board, two members are attorneys.
“We’ve saved the town millions by having these volunteers on the Board of Appeals,” Battistelli said.
Special Town Meeting is scheduled for Monday at Rockport Middle and High School, 24 Jerden’s Lane. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. You can find the full warrant at https://bit.ly/3JCJmCI.
Stephen Hagan may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or [email protected].
By Stephen Hagan | Staff Writer
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