Subcommittee Formed for Middle Housing in Burlington

Housing has been a hot topic of discussion in recent years across the state and country, and especially here in Massachusetts, where the cost of living is second in the country and the cost of housing is more than double the national average. Middle housing in Burlington is a large need, as young families and seniors looking to downsize are increasingly unable to afford to live in the town they call home.

Burlington has been working on housing for a number of years. The Housing Needs Assessment commissioned by the Housing Partnership identified the need for more middle housing and a more diverse housing stock in general, and the Planning and Economic Development Departments have been working on a plan to revamp the Mall Road area, with hopes to submit it to Town Meeting later this year.

The state has put a number of plans, incentives, and opportunities in place to encourage more affordable housing, and the legislature also passed the MBTA Communities law in 2021, which requires multi-family zoning in many communities across the Commonwealth. At this May's Town Meeting, the town's plan to create a MBTA Communities multi-family overlay, where multi-family housing would be allowed without having to secure a special permit, passed, keeping Burlington in compliance with this controversial state law.

A concern about this plan, though, is that it does not create any new multifamily housing. In fact, most of the parcels in the overlay district already contain multifamily housing. Recently, the state House passed a new bill, known as the Affordable Homes Act, that would subsidize rehabilitation of existing public housing, allow accessory dwelling units by right in single family zones, and more. That bill still needs to make it through the senate, but Burlington is already discussing how the town can create more middle housing using districts such as 40R mixed use & high density or 40Y starter home zoning districts.

The Planning Board assembled a subcommittee at their June 6 meeting and expects much more conversation about the topic in the coming months.

Also at Planning Board:

• Resident Bob Young spoke during public participation to request that the town require bollards or other protective mechanisms to prevent cars from crashing into buildings, something that has happened twice in recent months in Burlington. Board Chair Bill Gaffney assured Mr. Young that new construction does require bollards or planters, though there's nothing the Board can do to address this issue with existing properties.
• Town Counsel Lisa Mead proposed a new process for proposing and working through zoning amendments that would involve subcommittee and public meetings where the bulk of the work is done prior to the public hearing.
• Planet Fitness will be moving from its current location at 50 Ray Ave to 240 Middlesex Turnpike and hopes to open before the end of the year.
• The Planning Board appears to be satisfied with the site-design-in-progress for Brixmor Property Group, who will be redesigning the parking lot to mitigate flooding, reconfiguring the parking spaces, and opening four stores (including Tatte Bakery and another restaurant) in the vacant space there.

The next Planning Board meeting will be on June 20.