BENJAMIN FIERRO III – ‘We’re pleased’

Hoping to capitalize on Gov. Paul Cellucci’s commitment to keep housing issues a top priority for his administration this year, the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts has drafted a legislative agenda that tackles subjects ranging from Title 5 irregularities to moratoria on new construction in cities and towns.

But equally important as the host of bills that the association has had filed on its behalf on Beacon Hill is what will be happening in the executive branch of the State House, according to HBAM officials.

“For the second year in a row, the governor has cited housing as a priority, and that’s exciting to the homebuilders,” said Benjamin Fierro III, counsel for HBAM. “Last year was the first time he addressed it in his State of the State speech, and because the crisis has not been solved, the builders were looking carefully to see if housing remained a priority, and we’re pleased it did.”

In his speech, given earlier this month at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Cellucci announced that he would create a Special Commission on Barriers to Housing Development that will look at ways to increase the state’s housing stock. “Restrictive barriers limit housing production and increase costs,” Cellucci said. “This commission will identify those restrictions that should be eased in order to facilitate the development of new and affordable homes.”

“The Home Builders Association of Massachusetts eagerly anticipates the work of the governor’s special commission,” Fierro said. “This goes to the heart of what’s facing builders. Housing production here is below national levels; it takes longer to build, and it’s more expensive. It’s not because of the economy.”

“Everyone knows we’re way behind on housing,” said homebuilder Ed Mogan of Mogan & Co. of Centerville and president of HBAM. “A lot of people have to move out of the state. We have no place for our kids to live.”

Citing what it sees as excessive regulations concerning septic systems in some communities as a barrier to building housing, HBAM has re-filed a bill aimed at creating a uniform Title 5 code for the state. Communities that want to have a more stringent code would have to file an application with the Department of Environmental Protection – citing specific local conditions that warrant the additional regulation – and would have to be supported by engineering and scientific data.

“I think the headline this year is Title 5,” said Finley H. Perry, a Hopkinton-based builder and legislative chairman of HBAM. “We’re not proposing a hard-headed bill; it’s just asking that if [a town] wants to augment its septic [requirements], it go before DEP. Right now, unless someone complains, the regulations stand.” He added that the legislation would not affect towns with extra regulations already in effect.

‘No Greater Barrier’
The association is also bringing what it sees as a problem with towns instituting building moratoria to the legislative level. House bill 1242 would prohibit a city or town from adopting a zoning bylaw restricting the rate of residential development unless it has first adopted a master plan. If no master plan is in place, the bill allows for the moratoria if, after a public hearing, there is evidence that an emergency exists with regard to the rate of development, and if the planning board immediately begins preparing a master plan.

In any event, the building moratoria could not last more than two years.

“An adoption of a moratorium is a recognition that a town has failed to plan. Moratoriums are an interim measure for dealing with a situation and are supposed to be short-term,” said Fierro. As one example, Fierro cited Georgetown as one community that recently put in place a building cap of 20 new homes per year. “With this law, towns have to justify why they’re adopting a moratorium.

“We’re putting this issue before the Senate and House of Representatives because when we talk about barriers to building, there is no greater barrier than the inability to get the starter permit. It’s an extreme action by a community to deprive property owners of their right to develop land, and it should be done for as short of a time as possible.”

Reversing a stance its members took several years ago, HBAM also worked on filing a bill that would establish continuing education requirements for licensed construction supervisors. The bill would authorize the state Board of Building Regulations and Standards to come up with regulations and approve courses, as well as establish an advisory board that would make recommendations for continuing education requirements.

“Eight to 10 years ago, the membership was not in favor of this,” Perry said, “but now we see it as a way to differentiate the professional builders and remodelers. This would make them really stand out.”

“This wasn’t something the state was looking for, but those in the industry said this makes sense,” Fierro said. The administration of the program would be funded by setting aside a percentage of fees collected by the board from construction supervisor licenses.

Though HBAM has not specifically filed legislation on the matter, Fierro said the association would be joining a number of other groups this year to fight a number of proposed changes in state laws under Chapter 40B – also know as the anti-snob zoning law – which calls for cities and towns to have at least 10 percent of their housing stock deemed affordable for lower-income families. Developers may use comprehensive permits to build affordable housing in communities that do not meet that goal. Some proposals this year look to reduce the 10 percent goal to 8 percent.

“We’re going to be defending Chapter 40B from efforts to weaken the law, and we’re actively in a partnership with [the Citizens Housing and Planning Association],” Fierro said. “All of them are geared toward the same end: making it more difficult for the state to override local zoning. It’s not only a reaction against more housing, but a reaction against low- and moderate-income housing.”

Other new legislation from HBAM this year includes a bill designed to establish a Home Improvement Contractor Council that would make recommendations to the Board of Building Regulations and Standards regarding the registration of home improvement contractors. The seven-member panel would include representatives from the division of inspection, the attorney general’s office, consumer groups, homebuilders and others.

HBAM will also be supporting two bills put forth by Cellucci. One proposes expediting the process of making underutilized state property available for the development of housing. The other would allow developers who agree to set aside a portion of their projects for low- and moderate-income units to access financial incentives currently available to economic development projects, including property tax relief.

While hoping all of their efforts on Beacon Hill help the bills become law, HBAM officials said that even if some proposals go down in defeat, they will be successful if they are able to air the issues and educate some members of the Legislature on what’s affecting homebuilders.

“I think we have a good shot at getting some things squared away,” Mogan said. “Our main goal is to be able to get more housing. We need more housing, everybody knows that.”