LYNN — While some communities served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) might be grappling with a new state law governing housing, Lynn is not one of them, said City Planner Aaron Clausen.
“Lynn is uniquely positioned to meet the deadlines to be compliant with the new law,” Clausen told the City Council on Tuesday night.
He explained that due to the amount of housing units already constructed that meet the criteria of being suitable for families with children, five of the city’s zoned districts are already in compliance.
The law, Section 3A of Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 40A, says that “an MBTA community shall have a zoning ordinance or bylaw that provides for at least one district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right, provided, however, that such multi-family housing shall be without age restrictions and shall be suitable for families with children.
Failure to adhere to the guidelines set forth by the state when they were promulgated in January could mean loss of valuable grant money, Clausen warned. However, he said several times during his presentation to the council that he was confident Lynn was on the right track toward compliance.
All but a handful of communities in eastern Massachusetts, and all of the North Shore, are identified as MBTA communities. They fall into four categories: rapid transit, bus, commuter rail and adjacent. Even though Lynn has a commuter-rail station in downtown Lynn, it is designated as a bus community, Clausen said.
According to preliminary guidelines issued last January, a multi-family district must be at least 50 acres of land, or one-tenth of land area within a half-mile of transit access. A minimum multi-family unit capacity is based on the percentage of units within a community. Minimum gross density is 15 units per acre, and the units must be suitable for families with children.
As a bus community, Lynn would need 20 percent minimum unit capacity, Clausen said.
As of the 2020 census, Lynn has 36,782 housing units. Building permits have been issued for 2,112 housing units since 1990, representing a 6 percent growth from the previous 30 years.
Median rents have gone up 25 percent from 2015 to 2018, and median housing costs have doubled from 2011 to 2019. Clausen’s presentation also noted that more than 42 percent of households in Lynn are housing cost-burdened.
Ward 2 Councilor Rick Starbard asked Clausen if an influx of housing for families with children might put even more of a strain on schools that, he said, are already overburdened. Clausen said he didn’t anticipate that to be a problem.
But he said this is not a problem unique to Lynn.
“Massachusetts is facing a core challenge in creating adequate housing to support families, workers and aging households,” he said in his presentation.
Also, the state has among the highest, and fastest growing, home prices and rents of any state in the nation, and rising costs have dramatically increased financial pressures on low- to middle-income families.
The city has until December to submit an action plan or request for compliance determination.
