the romney framework for building great communities
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The Romney Framework for Building Great Communities
Douglas I. FoySecretary of Commonwealth Development
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Sprawl Means. . .
• High land consumption per person and disinvestment in cities
• Growth in daily miles of travel, nearly constant gridlock, no alternative to driving for many
• Air and water pollution• Loss of forests, farms, other open space• Low housing production, limited to McMansions• Obesity and chronic health problems• Isolation of seniors – our fastest-growing cohort
Investing in Great Cities & Towns: 10 First Steps
1. Office for Commonwealth Development
2. Fix It First/Infrastructure
3. Commonwealth Capital
4. Transit-Oriented Development
5. Development-Oriented Transportation
6. Smart Growth Zoning Act
7. City and Town Center Redevelopment
8. Highway Program: Communities First
9. Environmental Policy
10. Local Capacity Building
(1) Office for Commonwealth Development
• “Super-secretariat” linking transportation, housing, environment and energy agencies
• Ensures consistent state support for growth in cities, town centers, and other walkable, infrastructure-rich areas– Infrastructure programs, other spending, regulation
– Incentives for cities and towns to reform zoning
(2) Fix It First: Infrastructure
• MassHighway: Roads and Bridges– Priority for repair and rehabilitation of streets, roads,
structurally deficient bridges– Bridge program to be doubled
• Dep’t of Conservation and Recreation: Parks– Merger and reform of state parks agencies– Capital budget doubled in 2004
• MBTA: “State of Good Repair” program • Public Housing: Introduce private investment?
Bridges: Aging Baby Boomers
(3) Commonwealth Capital
• Common administration of discretionary capital spending to ensure– Consistency of projects with smart growth
– Alignment of municipal policies and zoning with state interest in smart growth
– Coordination of agency decision-making
• Includes economic and community development, land protection, off-street parking, wastewater infrastructure and other programs
Commonwealth Capital
• Reviviendo Gateway Project, Lawrence –Governor’s Smart Growth Leadership Award Winner
(4) Transit-Oriented Development
• Commonwealth Development/MBTA Program– Community-based master planning -- stations with
surplus MBTA property– Re-zoning by first group of communities underway
• Funding – New $30 M program for parking, pedestrian and
bicycle infrastructure, housing– $40 M for infrastructure to support early projects
• MassHousing Priority Development Fund – $100 M, including planning grants and financing
Urban Transit-Oriented Development
• Maverick Gardens Hope VI Mixed-Income Redevelopment, East Boston –Governor’s Smart Growth Leadership Award Winner
Suburban Town Center Transit-Oriented Development
• 10-12 Summer Street, Manchester –Governor’s Smart Growth Leadership Award Winner
(5) Development-Oriented Transportation
• “Fix it First” doesn’t mean “fix it only” – near-term transit and highway improvements support city- and town-center growth – Boston: Silver Line Phase III
– Worcester: Route 146
– Pittsfield: East Street
• Future transit and highway corridor projects will be conditioned on smart growth land-use plans and zoning
(6) Smart Growth Zoning Act(Chapter 40R)
• Incentives to create “smart growth zoning districts” in– City, town, village centers/commercial districts– Around transit stations– Other “smart growth” locations
• Criteria = infrastructure + walkability• Must have 8-20 units/acre, affordable units, housing
or mixed use• Incentives: State $ for re-zoning and issuing
building permits, priority in grant programs
(7) City and Town Center Redevelopment
• State Historic Preservation Tax Credit signed into law– Focus on smart growth, affordable housing– Current cap: $15 million/year
• Upper-story downtown redevelopment -- Housing Development Support Program (CDBG) funding doubled
• “Rebirth of Older Industrial Cities” project with NAIOP, Northeastern University, 12 cities– Addressing barriers to urban economic development
Revitalizing Historic Downtowns
• Amesbury –Governor’s Smart Growth Leadership Award Winner
(8) Highway Program:Communities First
• New Highway Project Development and Design Manual to incorporate principles of– Context-sensitive design
– Accommodation of all modes (inc. peds, bikes, transit)
– Traffic calming
• Being produced through open, collaborative process
• Goal: most progressive manual in nation
(9) Environmental Policy
• Environmental review and permitting– Fast track for smart growth projects
• State Revolving Fund (water infrastructure)– Reforms to facilitate sewering for town center
growth and get tougher on sewer extensions to outlying areas
• Brownfields redevelopment – State support targeted to cities and town centers
Smart Brownfields Redevelopment
• Heywood Memorial Library, Gardner –Governor’s Smart Growth Leadership Award Winner
(10) Local Capacity Building
• Technical assistance grants to cities and towns– Priority Development Fund (Dep’t of Housing and
Community Development/MassHousing)
– Smart Growth Grants (Environmental Affairs)
• Commonwealth Development agency staff support– mass.gov/ocd
• Governor’s Awards for Smart Growth
Places to Watch: Lowell
Brockton
Haverhill
“Redevelop First” – The first of Massachusetts’s ten
Sustainable Development Principles
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