I am very grateful for my readers, a couple of whom contacted me requesting commentary about the false statement made during a recent zoning public info ‘forum’ by Sterling’s useless, superfluous, make-work ‘Town Planner’ drone, Stephen Wallace, in response to the November 27, 2023 letter sent to him by lawless, out-of-control MEOHLC assclown twit Caroline “Chris” Kluchman, Acting Director, ‘Community Services Division,’ after Wallace proposed that the massive Mass.Gen.Laws Ch. 40B so-called ‘affordable housing’ Northgate Meadows Complex, located in Sterling near the Leominster line and the Registry of Motor Vehicles building, be deemed ‘MBTA Multi-Family Zoning District’-compliant. Here is the link to Kluchman’s letter—
sterling_pre-adoption_feedback_11-27-23_final.pdf
During that recent zoning public info ‘forum’ Wallace said that that letter constituted MEOHLC’s ‘rejection’ of Wallace’s proposal that the Northgate Meadows Complex qualify as Sterling’s so-called ‘MBTA Multi-Family Zoning District.’ Wallace’s statement was FALSE. As you can see from reading Kluchman’s letter, Kluchman sought follow-up clarification from Wallace on five (5) points. Wallace, being a paycheck-cashing drone, never followed up with any clarification to Kluchman/MEOHLC. Instead, Wallace next proposed to MEOHLC that the very environmentally-sensitive parcel off the end of Ford Road, discussed on this Blog previously, qualify as Sterling’s so-called ‘MBTA Multi-Family Zoning District.’
THE BIG PICTURE, YET AGAIN:
I repeat—Mass.Gen.Laws Ch. 40A, Sec. 3A, set forth below, is inapplicable to the Town of Sterling BECAUSE THE TOWN OF STERLING HAS NO LAND WITHIN 0.5 MILES OF A TRANSIT STATION OR TERMINAL OF THE TYPE REFERRED TO IN THAT STATUTE. THEREFORE, MEOHLC’S SO-CALLED ‘COMPLIANCE GUIDELINES’ ARE ULTRA VIRES, UNENFORCEABLE BULLSHIT.
“Mass. General Laws c.40A § 3A
Multi-family zoning as-of-right in MBTA communities
This is an unofficial version of a Massachusetts General Law.
Table of Contents
Updates
- Added by St.2020, c.359, § 18, effective January 14, 2021
- Amended by St.2021, c.29, § 10, effective July 29, 2021
- Amended by St.2023, c. 7, §§ 152-153, effective May 30, 2023
- Amended by St. 2024, c. 150, § 9, effective August 6, 2024
(a)
(1)
An MBTA community shall have a zoning ordinance or by-law that provides for at least 1 district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right; provided, however, that such multi-family housing shall be without age restrictions and shall be suitable for families with children. For the purposes of this section, a district of reasonable size shall: (i) have a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre, subject to any further limitations imposed by section 40 of chapter 131 and title 5 of the state environmental code established pursuant to section 13 of chapter 21A; and (ii) be located not more than 0.5 miles from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal or bus station, if applicable.
(b)
An MBTA community that fails to comply with this section shall not be eligible for funds from: (i) the Housing Choice Initiative as described by the governor in a message to the general court dated December 11, 2017; (ii) the Local Capital Projects Fund established in section 2EEEE of chapter 29; (iii) the MassWorks infrastructure program established in section 63 of chapter 23A, or (iv) the HousingWorks infrastructure program established in section 27½ of chapter 23B.
(c)
The executive office of housing and livable communities, in consultation with the executive office of economic development, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, shall promulgate guidelines to determine if an MBTA community is in compliance with this section.”
NOTE: Nothing in that statute requires a minimum lot size of five (5) acres, a minimum ‘district’ size of five (5) acres, a district comprised of one (1) lot rather than three (3), minimum distance ‘district’ parcel required lot frontage on any street or road, street or road access within the host municipality rather than street or road access from an adjacent municipality such as Leominster, etc..
The Northgate Meadows Complex has water and sewer connections provided by Leominster.
Sterling’s useless, superfluous, make-work ‘Town Planner’ drone, Stephen Wallace, by failing to respond as requested to Kluchman’s 27 November 2023 letter, signaled that he’d rather drain the Town of Sterling’s already-stretched municipal well water capacity and degrade Sterling’s environment yet more by constructing dense multi-family housing and concomitant massive septic fields on the very environmentally-sensitive parcel off the end of Ford Road. Ya, ya, he’s F#*&ING BRILLIANT at Sterling taxpayer expense—a true payroll patriot.
OF COURSE, if Sterling officials had any smarts and cojones—demonstrably THEY DO NOT—long ago they would have done what the upstanding Town of Holden officials did and told Gov. Maura ‘Hold It’ Healey, AG Andrea ‘Kamala Smarts’ Campbell, and the entire bent crew at MEOHLC to SHOVE ‘MBTA MULTI-FAMILY ZONING DISTRICTS’ SIDEWAYS!
Stay tuned!
J.G.
STERLING, MASSACHUSETTS, OVERWATCH 