What is the MBTA Communities Act?

Waltham's current zoning code makes it very easy to build small amounts of large, luxury housing but very difficult to build large amounts of modest, more affordable housing. Across the vast majority of Waltham's residentially zoned land, it is illegal to build anything denser than a single family home or a duplex, which is why we are seeing so many $2 million McMansions and $1 million duplexes being developed today. Not only is this the most expensive kind of housing, but because of its low density it is ineffective in addressing our current housing shortage. The MBTA Communities Act seeks to address this housing crisis with minimal impacts to traffic by forcing cities along or near commuter rail stations to update their zoning codes, such that it becomes easier to develop multifamily housing near transit.

On or before December 31, 2024, Waltham must modify its zoning to allow for more multifamily housing with the following requirements:

• It must be legal to build housing at a density of at least 15 units per acre or greater in the newly zoned area
  • examples of housing at this density include the following:
    • A triple-decker on a small lot
    • The South Side in Waltham
    • The Charlesbank Garden Apartments in Waltham
• The newly zoned area must allow for the existence of at least 3,982 housing units as of right
  • While the newly zoned area must legally allow for this housing, there is no requirement to actually construct this number of housing units.
  • "as of right" means that "the construction and occupancy of multi-family housing is allowed without[...] discretionary approval."
  • "as of right" also means that the multi-family housing cannot be held to an unfair standard that does not apply to other uses, such as requiring higher energy-efficiency standards which don't apply to other housing or requiring non-residential development to accompany the multi-family housing.
    • Waltham can petition for an exemption to require ground-floor commercial uses in established commercial areas with pedestrian priority, such as Moody Street.
• The newly zoned area must be at least 50 acres in size
  • At least 50% of the newly zoned area must be contiguous
  • No portion of the newly zoned area which is less than 5 contiguous acres will count towards this minimum size requirement.
• At least 50% if the newly zoned area must be within 0.5 miles of a commuter rail station
• The newly zoned area cannot discriminate against families with children 
  • Waltham cannot try to impose age-restrictions or size limits for the newly zoned housing

Will the MBTA Communities Act create affordable housing?

Yes, if the Waltham City Council chooses to update its Inclusionary Zoning ordinance to allow for more affordable housing. You can read more about Inclusionary Zoning here.