In the ongoing effort to solve its housing crisis, Massachusetts employs two distinct strategies: Chapter 40B, the "stick," and Chapter 40R, the "carrot." While both aim to increase housing production, they represent fundamentally different philosophies and approaches regarding who decides where and how new housing is built.
Chapter 40B: The Developer's Tool
Known as the "Anti-Snob Zoning Act," Chapter 40B is a developer-driven tool that can force the issue of affordable housing.
- How it Works: In towns with less than 10% affordable housing, a developer can select a site and apply for a single "comprehensive permit." This powerful permit allows the developer to override most local zoning bylaws. Critically, this includes overriding use and dimensional restrictions. This means a developer can propose a dense, multi-family project on land the town has specifically zoned for commercial, industrial, or low-density single-family use, effectively bypassing a community's master plan for where growth should occur.
- The Impact: This process is often confrontational, pitting developers against municipalities who feel a profound loss of local control over land use. While effective at producing needed housing, it can result in projects that are out of place and out of sync with local planning efforts.
Chapter 40R: The Town's Incentive
Enacted as a collaborative alternative, Chapter 40R encourages municipalities to proactively plan for growth on their own terms.
- How it Works: This program is voluntary. Municipalities choose to create "Smart Growth Districts." In these districts, dense housing is allowed "as-of-right" (without special permits), and the town receives significant financial payments from the Commonwealth and becomes eligible for other financial incentives.
- The Strategic Alternative: This incentive model provides a powerful off-ramp from a 40B dispute. A developer with a viable 40B project may instead offer to partner with a municipality to create a 40R district for that site. This approach grants the town planning more control over the outcome and access to state funds, while the developer gains a more predictable approval process and community goodwill.
Conclusion
Chapter 40B and Chapter 40R are two sides of the same coin. While 40B acts as a legal backstop to ensure housing can be built anywhere, even against local wishes, 40R offers a planned alternative for growth. Their relationship can be dynamic; the threat of a 40B project in an undesirable location can be the catalyst for a collaborative 40R district, turning a potential conflict into a partnership that benefits the developer, the municipality, and the Commonwealth's need for more housing.
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