PETITION OF:

SECTION 1. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40B, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended in section 20 of said chapter 40B, in the definition of “Low or moderate income housing” by adding the following:--Low or moderate income housing shall include housing subsidized by the federal or state government to provide housing for individuals with long term disabilities, including but not limited to, schools, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and residential group homes.

SECTION 2. Said section 20 of said chapter 40B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended after the word “housing,” in line 22, by adding the following:--The city or town may consider the size of the project in determining if it is consistent with local needs.

SECTION 3. Said section 20 of chapter 40B is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “town,” in line 25, in the “consistent with local needs” section, the following words:- and certified total number of residential housing units per the local assessor’s office.

SECTION 4. Section 21 of said chapter 40B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence the following sentences:-- The funding agency must notify the chief elected official of the city or town and the boards of zoning, planning, health and conservation to solicit proposal review comments. A preliminary site plan and narrative project description must be submitted with the comment request letter.

SECTION 5. Said section 21 of said chapter 40B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the second sentence, the following sentence:-- The planning board in each city or town is required to review the applications and submit written comment to the board of appeals.

SECTION 6. Said chapter 40B is hereby further amended by inserting after section 21 the following section:--

Section 21A. Pursuant to 760 CMR 31.07(1)(i), a community may develop and implement an affordable housing plan. A city or town that begins to develop an affordable housing plan shall be provided with a temporary moratorium from comprehensive permit applications until said city or town submits the plan to the Department of Housing and Community Development. The Department and city or town must have a mutually agreed upon date of submission for the plan, in order for the city or town to be eligible for the temporary moratorium. If the city or town does not comply with the date of submission for the plan, the moratorium will end on the agreed upon date.

SECTION 7. Said chapter 40B is hereby further amended by inserting after section 21 the following section:--

Section 21B. Each city or town shall certify annually to the Department of Housing and Community Development the number of housing units within its borders that meet the criteria in order for the units to be counted toward the city’s or town’s low and moderate income housing stock. A city or town may deny a comprehensive permit application if their low or moderate income housing is in excess of eight percent and the city or town has an affordable housing plan that has been certified by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

SECTION 8. Said chapter 40B is hereby further amended by inserting after section 21 the following section:--

Section 21C. All low and moderate income units included in a comprehensive permit shall have a use restriction of perpetuity and such restriction shall be recorded in the registry of deeds for the district court in which the land lies or the registry district of the land court.

SECTION 9. Said chapter 40B is hereby further amended by inserting after section 21 the following section:--

Section 21D. A city or town that has a certified housing plan by the Department of Housing and Community Development shall be allowed to limit the amount of comprehensive permit applications before the board of appeals to three percent of the total housing inventory.

SECTION 10. Said chapter 40B is hereby further amended by inserting after section 21 the following section:--

Section 21E. The Department of Mental Retardation and the Department of Mental Health shall report to the Department of Housing and Community Development relative to the facilities located in each city and town that house low or moderate income individuals, and submit a copy to each city and town across the Commonwealth. Homeownership obtained through public subsidy, including but not limited to, low interest, no down payment, loan insurance programs, shall be reported to the Department of Housing and Community Development by the agency granting the mortgage, with a copy of the notice to the city or town.

SECTION 11. Section 23 of said chapter 40B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “approval,” in line 12, the following words:--The Department of Housing and Community Development shall define the types of “waivers” that are allowed due to an uneconomic project. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant to prove that the project is uneconomical. The applicant must also prove that the waiver will not adversely affect the community’s resources or health and well-being of the residents.

SECTION 12. Said chapter 40B is hereby further amended by inserting after section 23 the following sections:--

Section 23A. Applicants must fund all reasonable and deliberate review costs incurred by the city or town, including but not limited to, use of outside consultants, legal counsel, engineering consultants and the overhead administrative expenses.

Section 23B. All applicants shall meet state requirements, including but not limited to, environmental requirements, prior to the issuance of a project eligibility letter.

SECTION 13. Said chapter 40B is hereby further amended by inserting after section 23 the following section:--

Section 23C. The Department of Housing and Community Development shall have an educational outreach program for cities and towns relative to the affordable housing law and regulations. If requested, the department shall provide a representative to the city or town for assistance at public hearings on comprehensive permit applications. The department shall provide an annual report designating what constitutes affordability. The report shall detail certain financial amounts for a one bedroom, two bedroom and so on.

SECTION 14. Said chapter 40B is hereby further amended by inserting after section 23 the following section:-

Section 24. Mitigation Fund. The Mitigation Fund shall be established pursuant to this section, and shall provide financial assistance to cities and towns across the Commonwealth if they are unduly burdened by a low or moderate income housing project built pursuant to Chapter 40B of the Massachusetts General Laws. Any public agency or limited dividend or nonprofit organization proposing to build low or moderate income housing, and applying for a comprehensive permit with the board of appeals shall contribute to the Mitigation Fund. The entity must contribute an amount designated by the Department of Housing and Community Development to be fair and sufficient to create a fund. For the purposes of this section, unduly burdened shall be defined as, the town or city has been impacted disproportionately due to the specific project. The project may unduly burden the communities’ schools, roads, and other services. The city or town must be able to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the project has unduly burdened the community. The Housing Appeals Committee is designated as the Board which will hear and decide the requests for financial assistance brought by the city or town.