Location of Districts

(1) General Rule for Determining the Applicability of M.G.L. c. 40A, § 3A's Location Requirement. (a) A Multi-family zoning district shall "be located not more than 0.5 miles from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal or bus station, if applicable." When an MBTA community has only a small amount of Transit station area within its boundaries, it may not be possible or practical to locate all of the Multi-family zoning district within 0.5 miles of a Transit station. Transit station area may not be a practical location for a Multi-family zoning district if it does not include Developable land where Multi-family housing can actuallybe constructed. Therefore, for purposes of determining compliance with M.G.L. c. 40A, § 3A and 760 CMR 72.00, EOHLC will consider the statute's location requirement to be "applicable" to a particular MBTA community only if that community has within its borders at least 100 acres of Developable station area. A Multi-family zoning district shall be located within transit station areas depending on how much total developable station area is in that community, in accordance with Table 2: Table 2. Total Developable Station Area Within The MBTA Community (acres) Portion of the Multi-family Zoning District That must Be Within a Transit Station Area 0-100 101-250 251-400 401-600 601-800 801+ (b) The percentages specified in this table apply to both the minimum land area and the minimum Multi-family unit capacity. For example, in an MBTA community that has a total of 500 acres of Transit station area within its boundaries, a Multi-family zoning district will comply with M.G.L. c. 40A, § 3A's location requirement if at least 50% of the district's minimum land area is located within the Transit station area, and at least 50% of the district's minimum Multi-family unit capacity is located within the Transit station area. (c) A community with Transit station areas associated with more than one Transit station may locate the Multi-family zoning district in any of the Transit station areas. For example, a Rapid transit community with Transit station area around a Subway station in one part of town, and Transit station area around a Commuter rail station in another part of town, may locate its Multi-family zoning district in either or both Transit station areas. (d) MBTA Communities with Limited or No Transit Station Area. When an MBTA community has less than 100 acres of Developable station area within its boundaries, the MBTA community may locate the Multi-family zoning district anywhere within its boundaries. To encourage transit-oriented Multi-family housing consistent with the general intent of M.G.L. c. 40A, § 3A, MBTA communities are encouraged to consider locating the Multi-family zoning district in an area with reasonable access to a Transit station based on existing street patterns, pedestrian connections, and bicycle lanes, or in an area that qualifies as an "eligible location" as defined in M.G.L. c. 40A — for example, near an existing downtown or village center, near a regional transit authority bus stop or line, or in a location with existing under-utilized facilities that can be redeveloped into new Multi-familyhousing. (2) General Guidance on District Location Applicable to All MBTA Communities. When choosing the location of a new Multi-family zoning district, every MBTA community should consider how much of a proposed district is Sensitive land on which permitting requirements and other considerations could make it challenging or inadvisable to construct Multi-family housing. For example, an MBTA community should avoid including in a Multi-family zoning district areas that are subject to flooding, or are known habitat for rare or threatened species, or have prime agricultural soils in active agricultural use.