MBTA 3A Zoning Project

Update: 8/9/2023

A MBTA 3A Zoning meeting will be held on Thursday, August 10th at 7 pm in the Colchester Room at Town Hall. Interested parties may participate in person or on Zoom. Please see the official agenda posted on the Town's calendar for the Zoom information. This meeting will be used to inform residents on the basics of Section 3A of the MBTA zoning requirement, district identification, the compliance model process, a presentation of the draft zoning bylaw, and next steps.

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The MBTA Communities Zoning law requires that a MBTA community shall have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right and meets other criteria set forth in the statute such as the following:

• Minimum gross density of 15 units per acre
• Located not more than 0.5 miles from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal or bus station, if applicable
• No age restrictions and suitable for families with children

On December 15, 2021, the Department of Housing and Community Development (now EOHLC) issued draft guidelines on how to comply with the law. After the release of the draft guidelines, the Baker-Polito Administration held a public comment period until March 31, 2022. During the public comment period, there were over 24 engagement sessions and DHCD (now EOHLC) received nearly 400 comments through an online portal. The public comment process served to inform the revised guidelines. 

The below attached is a presentation done by the MVPC showing their research into the most viable sites in Salisbury for the required compliance zoning that Salisbury will consider when making the Town's first draft plan.