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City is in compliance, but City Council now working on requests for pair of ordinance changes requested by state EOHLC
By Steve Freker
The City of Malden has received a favorable review of its year-old-plus plan for conditional compliance with the 2023 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Communities Law. But the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), which oversees the implementation of the law, requested two pertinent ordinance revisions to address some parts of the overall city map, which outlines requirements for zoning districts. The Malden City Council on Tuesday night accepted the review of the plan, which it originally formulated and submitted in December 2023, like many communities, just before the deadline.
At Tuesday night’s regular meeting, the City Council voted unanimously to send a proposed set of ordinance changes to a future joint meeting and hearing before the Malden Planning Board and the City Council’s Ordinance Committee. That meeting would most likely be held in May, according to Ward 7 Councillor Stephen Winslow. After review and discussion by those municipal bodies, the City Council would then be ready to enroll and ultimately ordain the changes to put the city in updated compliance with the 2023 state law.
According to the EOHLC, Malden is designated as a Rapid Transit Community with 27,721 existing housing units. The agency requires the city to have a required land area of 31 acres and a minimum multifamily unit capacity of 6,930 units.
Malden was requested to remove a development cap in the community and also maintain a growth number and unit capacity, by proposing a change to a district boundary, by amending a map. The plan is to remove the former Star Market site – now Strata Apartments – at 474 Broadway, and add part of the Overlook Ridge site in the map amendment, according to Malden City Planner Michelle Romero. Romero, at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, gave a detailed explanation of how this could be accomplished through an ordinance change. She recounted how she and her staff went through the timeline of communications between her office and the state EOHLC.
City Council President Ryan O’Malley asked and received several clarifications of terms related to the proposed changes. “These are important points that we all have to fully understand as we move forward with the important legislation,” Council President O’Malley said.
Ward 3 Councillor Amanda Linehan asked if any of the proposed changes would affect an already “in the works” major development project/addition at the Overlook Ridge site. “We know it is in its early stages. Would this have an impact?” Councillor Linehan asked.
Romero noted that building permits have not even issued for any parts of the project, it is still so early.
A communication from Mayor Gary Christenson to the City Council outlined what is required of the city to bring Malden to full compliance with the state law. “As required by the state, the proposed zoning amendments to our MBTA Communities Zoning Overlays before you now would eliminate the development cap in the MBTA Communities Multifamily Overlay subdistrict MCMOD-MD 1 and eliminate the effective date of final approval by the state of our District Compliance Application,” Mayor Christenson wrote in his communication.
“Since receiving notice of our Conditional Compliance Determination for MBTA Communities under Section 3A of the Zoning Act from the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities in November 2024, City staff has worked to prepare zoning amendments that address the two issues identified by the state in that Determination. The state has recently informed us of its review and approval of our proposed approach,” the Mayor added.
Following is the text of the proposed ordinance revisions:
Be it hereby ordained by the Malden City Council that Title 12 of the Code of the City of Malden (MCC) be amended as follows:
- To amend Section 12.08.010 (ESTABLISHMENT of DISTRICTS) and to amend Section 12.08.020 (ZONING MAP) to amend the MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District (MCMOD) to include those parcels shown on the attached map, “City of Malden MBTA Communities Zoning Overlay Districts 12/13/23 revised (date TBD) MCMOD – MMUD Boundary Map,” and specifically, to amend the boundaries of subdistrict MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District-Medium Density 1 (MCMOD-MD1) as follows:
- To remove the property known as 474-484 Broadway and by City Assessor’s parcel identification number 151 627 770; and
- To add the parcels known by City Assessor’s parcel identification numbers 185 575 508, 185 575 510 and 185 575 513, and a portion of the property known as 0 State Highway and by City Assessor’s parcel identification number 185 575 506.
- To amend Section 12.12 (USE REGULATIONS) Section 12.12.400, MBTA COMMUNITIES ZONING OVERLAYS, as follows:
- MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District (MCMOD) Section 12.12.400.1.B.6 Applicability, Effective Date.
To delete in its entirety the following provision:
The effective date of this Ordinance shall be the date of final approval by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of the City of Malden’s District Compliance Application, filed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 40A, Section 3A.
- MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District (MCMOD) Section 12.12.400.1.C.3. MCMOD-MD 1 Subdistrict Development Limitations.
To delete in its entirety the following provision:
There shall be limitations on the overall amount of residential development within the MCMODMD 1 subdistrict as specified, and the aggregate number of dwelling units shall not exceed the sum of 1,582.
- Mandatory Mixed-use Overlay District (MMUD) Section 12.12.400.2.B.5. Applicability, Effective Date.
To delete in its entirety the following provision:
The effective date of this Ordinance shall be the date of final approval by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of the City of Malden’s District Compliance Application, filed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 40A, Section 3A.
