Brookline Compliance With The MBTA Communities Act

How do MBTA-CA Guidelines constrain Brookline's ability to create affordable housing?

One concern addressed by the MBTA-CA Guidelines is the possibility that municipalities will impose affordable housing requirements on multi-family housing or mixed used developments such that those housing projects are uneconomical to build.

Therefore, MBTA-CA Guidelines limit affordable housing requirements that can be imposed on multi-family housing or mixed used developments in MBTA-CA compliant zoning districts. The two limits imposed are:

  • no more than 10% can be the percentage of units in a project that must be affordable
  • no less than 80% of area medium income can be the income cap for families or individuals eligible to occupy affordable units

In order to adjust these limits to match Brookline’s updated by-laws, the town is providing an economic analysis to EOHLC to justify raising these limits. With EOHLC’s approval, the limits in Brookline will be:

  • 15% of units in a project must be affordable
  • 50% of area medium income is the income cap for families or individuals eligible to occupy affordable units

Will MBTA-CA compliance create affordable housing in Brookline?