Housing and Development Projects

Understanding the development-approval process, terminology used, and rationale behind today's market trends can be confusing. Experts from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership joined Town of Wakefield representatives at a community learning session in October 2021. Watch the recording now.

Affordable Housing; Chapter 40B

This statute allows eligible affordable housing developments to receive a comprehensive permit, even when projects require waivers of local zoning. Cities and towns that achieve a minimum housing affordability threshold of 10 percent may reject 40B comprehensive permit applications without facing an appeal from the developer, giving such cities and towns great discretion over 40B proposals. Municipalities that have not achieved minimum affordable housing production thresholds, however, have a more limited ability to reject 40B proposals.

Chapter 40B housing is different from other types of affordable housing because these homes do not receive any subsidies or state budget allocation. Instead, the cost of the affordable units is absorbed by the developer as part of the overall financing of the project. 

Find affordable home rentals in Massachusetts with Housing Navigator MA.

119-135 Nahant Street

32 Nahant Street

0 Stark Ave

Massachusetts Housing Choice Initiative

In December 2017, the Baker-Polito Administration filed An Act to Promote Housing Choices to facilitate housing production and adoption of zoning best practices. The Housing Choice Initiative set a goal of 135,000 new housing units statewide by 2025. According to the administration, Massachusetts home prices have increased at the fastest rate in the nation, and metropolitan Boston rent prices rank among the highest in the country. The Commonwealth must build more diverse housing stock to support our growing economy and to provide our changing population with housing choices.

MBTA Communities: Proposed Legislation

Enacted as part of the economic development bill in January 2021, new Section 3A of M.G.L. c. 40A (the Zoning Act) requires that an MBTA community shall have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right and meets other criteria set forth in the statute: Minimum gross density of 15 units per acre; Not more than ½ miles from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal or bus station, if applicable; No age restrictions; Suitable for families with children.

Wakefield is one of the 175 MBTA communities are subject to the new requirements. An MBTA community that does not comply with Section 3A is not eligible for funding from the Housing Choice Initiative, the Local Capital Projects Fund, the MassWorks Infrastructure Program, or other discretionary grants. These guidelines are currently in draft form.

First-Time Homebuyer Program

The Community Teamwork organization offers residents a Steps to Homeownership First-time Homebuyer certificate course that gives graduates eligibility for Mass Housing low-interest mortgages, Mass Housing Partnership soft second program, and down-payment assistance in many Massachusetts cities and towns. Learn more about the course.

    Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI)

    The Subsidized Housing Inventory is used to measure a community's stock of low-or moderate-income housing for the purposes of M.G.L. Chapter 40B, the Comprehensive Permit Law. While housing developed under Chapter 40B is eligible for inclusion on the inventory, many other types of housing also qualify to count toward a community's affordable housing stock. View Wakefield's SHI inventory.

    Housing Projects