The Healey-Driscoll Administration recently announced a major initiative to cut environmental regulations to make it faster and easier to build homes in Massachusetts. These new draft regulations are anticipated to speed up environmental review times from 1 year or more down to 30 days for housing projects across the state. The HBRAMA believes the proposed amendments to MEPA regulations could significantly reduce permitting times and costs to home builders.
Earlier this year, the Unlocking Housing Production Commission presented a report indicating that lengthy environmental reviews for new housing developments can delay projects for months and years and can result in significant, unexpected added costs which have the potential to render projects financially infeasible. The Administration’s announcement is intended to address this barrier to housing production.
Streamlining Review
Projects that meet the qualifying housing criteria will be able to move quickly through review by the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office. Rather than requiring developments of a detailed Environmental Impact Report (EIR), the proposed rules will allow qualifying housing projects to complete MEPA review with only the simpler Environmental Notification Form (ENF). This change will allow qualifying projects to cut the review process down from 1 year or more to just 30 days. Requirements for advance notice and community outreach will be maintained to ensure transparency and engagement, as supported by the UHPC.
Additionally, an appeal of a local wetlands order would no longer trigger MEPA review for single-family homes. Review of urban renewal plans that do not propose individual projects will also be reduced to a 30-day ENF filing.
Overall, these draft regulations go beyond recent changes to environmental review processes in other states by allowing developers to qualify for quicker approvals while still addressing critical climate and environmental concerns. These MEPA reforms emphasize a simpler and less restrictive self-verification process, which will enable faster approvals.
Qualifying Housing Criteria
To incentivize critical housing development while protecting the environment, housing projects must meet seven criteria to qualify for the streamlined process:
- Housing-Centered: At least 67 percent of a project must be for a residential purpose, with the remainder being used for related commercial uses;
- Dense: Must meet certain unit per acre thresholds for different types of housing;
- Land-Efficient: Projects may alter up to 5 acres of undeveloped land, or up to 10 acres with a tree preservation and replanting plan; and Priority Habitat, Prime Farmland, and carbon rich forest must be avoided;
- Flood and Erosion: All new developments must be constructed outside the current floodplain and other highest hazard areas and redevelopment projects must build outside highest hazard areas and follow resilient design principles;
- Energy Efficiency: Projects must comply with energy efficiency standards set out in the stretch code;
- Utility Access: There must be enough water supply, wastewater capacity and energy infrastructure to support the project; and,
- Transit-Oriented: Developments must limit the extent of new traffic, with higher thresholds if located near transit.
More information can be found at 301 CMR 11.00: MEPA Regulations.