Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2741 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3088 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2741
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Michelle L. Ciccolo
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act authorizing a development surcharge for community housing in the town of Lexington.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Michelle L. Ciccolo15th Middlesex1/20/2023Cindy F. FriedmanFourth Middlesex1/20/2023Michael J. BarrettThird Middlesex1/27/2023 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3088 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2741
18	18	By Representative Ciccolo of Lexington, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2741) of
19	19	Michelle L. Ciccolo, Cindy F. Friedman and Michael J. Barrett (by vote of the town) relative to
20	20	authorizing a development surcharge for community housing in the town of Lexington.
21	21	Revenue. [Local Approval Received.]
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
25	25	(2023-2024)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act authorizing a development surcharge for community housing in the town of Lexington.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1: In order to mitigate the loss of moderate-income housing by the demand for
31	31	2buildable parcels of land, a residential linkage fee, hereafter referred to as "the community
32	32	3housing surcharge" or "the surcharge," shall be added by the Town of Lexington to all new
33	33	4single and two-family residential construction building permits issued by said town on parcels
34	34	5where an existing single- or two-family dwelling has been demolished to create a single
35	35	6buildable lot or multiple buildable lots.
36	36	7 SECTION 2: The Select Board of the Town of Lexington shall determine the amount of
37	37	8the community housing surcharge, which shall be applied on a dollars-per-square-foot basis on
38	38	9the certified total gross floor area of the structure or structures permitted by an applicable
39	39	10building permit. The surcharge shall apply only to single-family structures larger than 2,100
40	40	11square feet gross floor area and to two-family structures larger than 4,200 square feet gross floor 2 of 3
41	41	12area. The Select Board shall adjust the rate of the community housing surcharge for inflation
42	42	13annually.
43	43	14 SECTION 3: The Town Manager of the Town of Lexington or their designee shall
44	44	15prepare a study every five years to determine the suitability, effect, and amount of the surcharge,
45	45	16and recommend to the Select Board any possible changes necessary to address changing demand
46	46	17for community housing. The Town Manager or their designee shall also prepare and issue an
47	47	18annual report that identifies surcharge receipts; quantifies the attributes of community housing
48	48	19projects funded by the community housing surcharge and evaluates the impact of said housing
49	49	20projects.
50	50	21 SECTION 4: The Select Board of the Town of Lexington may adopt additional
51	51	22requirements, exemptions, and regulations to implement or enforce said community housing
52	52	23surcharge, consistent with this act.
53	53	24 SECTION 5. The building commissioner of the Town of Lexington shall not issue a
54	54	25certificate of occupancy for a building subject to this act before the community housing
55	55	26surcharge required by this act is paid; provided that an applicant for a building permit for a
56	56	27building in which said applicant intends to reside may opt to have the amount of said surcharge
57	57	28added to the property taxes due on said property in lieu of paying the surcharge in advance. If the
58	58	29applicant opts to have the surcharge added to the property taxes in such manner, the applicant
59	59	30shall not be required to pay said surcharge until the property is sold to another person; provided
60	60	31further that no interest shall accrue on the amount of the surcharge, and that the amount of the
61	61	32surcharge charge shall be abated by 20% per year from the date of the certificate of occupancy 3 of 3
62	62	33such that the amount of the surcharge will be $0 as of the date that is five years from the date the
63	63	34certificate of occupancy is issued.
64	64	35 SECTION 6: All surcharges and fines received pursuant to this act shall be deposited into
65	65	36the Town of Lexington Affordable Housing Capital Stabilization Fund or an affordable housing
66	66	37trust established by the Town pursuant to section 55C of chapter 44 of the General Laws or any
67	67	38special act.
68	68	39 SECTION 7: For the purposes of this act, "community housing" shall mean as defined
69	69	40under section 2 of chapter 44B of the General Laws.
70	70	41 SECTION 8: This act shall take effect upon its passage.