MASSACHUSETTS TENANT ADVOCATES AND OTHERS PROPOSE
"COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT ACT" -- WHICH WOULD GIVE
MASSACHUSETTS' COMMUNITIES THE ABILITY TO
RESTORE OR IMPOSE RENT CONTROLS/RENT REGULATION
In late December 1971, tenants in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
demonstrated in freezing sleet on City Hall steps to demand rent
control. They succeeded, and rent control became the centerpiece
of the city's affordable housing policy.
In November 1994, Cambridge landlords accomplished what hundreds
of lawsuits, years of lobbying, and nearly twenty-five years of
lost bi-annual local elections had failed to accomplish--they
abolished rent control. Under the guise of democracy--the state-
wide ballot process--they achieved the undemocratic result of
dumping the policy long endorsed by the majority of those
effected by it.
[See the related SHELTERFORCE article "Massachusetts Defeats Rent
Control"]
In an effort to return to local communities the right to
determine their own housing, development and environmental laws
and policies, a coalition of advocates has proposed the
"Community Empowerment Act." (CEA) This act will not
automatically re-establish rent controls, but it will give
communities the right to do so--an important self-determination
right taken away from Massachusetts communities in 1994's
"Question Nine."
The CEA has broad support among many who have no interest in rent
control or housing issues. Environmentalists see the CEA as a
local tool to protect waterways. Preservationists see the CEA as
a way to protect historic buildings or districts. Many see the
CEA's usefulness in limiting the extent of unfettered development
which often occurs at the expense of the viability of a local
community.
MASSACHUSETTS COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT ACT
A "Community Empowerment Act" has been certified by the Attorney
General of Massachusetts as being suitable for inclusion on the
November 1996 ballot. The collection of 65,000 valid signatures
of registered voters will be required before the end of November
1995.
Housing advocates and other supporters of the proposed
legislation need assistance in collecting signatures, organizing
other folks to do so, or by providing names and addresses of
other people willing to help.
To help, please contact:
Political Alliance for Community Empowerment
P.O. BOX 387
North Cambridge, MA 02140-0004
Call (617) 730-3018
Email to:
paceinfo@aol.com or
tenant@tenant.blythe.org (and we'll pass it along)
Supporters have indicated that financial assistance is also
needed. Please contact the above organization directly if you can
help with any donations.
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What follows is some information about the proposed Act.
The Community Empowerment Act (C.E.A.) was created by a diverse
group of citizens from throughout the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts who are members of Political Alliance for Community
Empowerment (P.A.C.E.). The C.E.A. expands the powers of cities
and towns to preserve their local character when it is threatened
by specific emergency conditions such as speculative land
development, destruction of historical buildings, elimination of
low income housing, and displacement of tenants.
This act was recently certified by the State Attorney General as
being suitable for inclusion on the statewide ballot in November
1996. Inclusion requires that approximately 65,000 signatures of
registered voters be collected by the end of November 1995.
A representative from P.A.C.E. will be glad to speak to your
group if you desire additional information about the C.E.A.
WHY IS THE C.E.A. NEEDED?
The destruction of a marsh, the construction of a strip-mall, the
opening of a "super store", the eviction of tenants, the razing
of historical buildings are frequent events in communities across
the nation. Such events have much in common for one simple
reason: all of them erode the sense of community that is an
integral part of most people's lives.
WHAT WILL THE PROPOSED C.E.A. DO?
It is a tool kit for LOCAL DECISION MAKING that allows a city or
town to declare an emergency when it or a community within it
faces conditions that threaten the community's stability and
cohesion or the health, safety, and convenience of its residents.
Specific conditions that could trigger an emergency are an
expansion of tax-exempt institutions that already occupy a
substantial part of the community, speculative development of
farm lands or natural lands, more than 7.5% annual expansion of
the housing stock, displacement of renter households by evictions
and rent increases, loss of federal and state financial support
for housing low-income families, loss of businesses that
undermines the viability of a town center, and loss of places
vital to the historical continuity of a community.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CITY OR TOWN
USES THE COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT ACT?
If an emergency is declared by the governing body of a city or
town, the consequences depend on the type of threat involved. In
the case of a threat to historical buildings, the city or town
could require that removal permits be obtained before a structure
is converted to some other use. If the threat is to farm lands or
to wetlands, the city or town could limit the number of building
permits granted for construction on undeveloped lots in a given
time period. If there is threat to the tenant households within
the community, the city or town could allow only just-cause
evictions or limit rent increases as long as they are sufficient
to meet costs incurred by the landlord.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE?
The Community Empowerment Act also changes two state laws. The
first change requires a majority vote of a city or town's
governing body to adopt rules concerning condominium conversions.
The other change requires that contested changes in local zoning
ordinances only need approval of 2/3 of the local council members
in order to be adopted. In both instances, the net effect is to
allow local residents to have increased say in the character of
their neighborhoods and communities.
WHY NOW?
The passage of Question Nine in November 1994 was just one a
number of events in the past decade or more that reflected the
ability of special interests to ride rough shod over the right of
communities to decide important local questions on the basis of
local concerns and values. The connections between housing,
environmental preservation, development, and historical
preservation are natural. These connections are even recognized
by the proposed legislation's opponents!
Is this Act 'much ado about nothing?' After all, save for the two
changes in regard to the rules governing condominium conversions
and changes to zoning ordinances, the state laws will be the same
after the Act is passed by the voters in November 1996. But much
will be changed. What will be different is that citizens of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts will have, with the passage of the
Act, reaffirmed their commitment to control of development by and
for the community. In this era of concern over intrusive
government regulations and bureaucracy, the Community Empowerment
Act embodies the desires of individuals to exercise their rights
and responsibilities in regard to governing their communities and
to control the character of their lives.
The passage of the Community Empowerment Act will not be easy.
We've had long experience with our opponents, those across the
state who mistrust the people and who have much to gain from a
divided, ignorant electorate. But we're not giving up on
democracy.
In the coming months, as this Act is debated, remember that the
question is simple, Who decides the future of your community? If
you believe that you and your neighbors should have an important
say in that future, the Community Empowerment Act deserves your
strong support.
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Full Text of the
MASSACHUSETTS COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT ACT
Initiative Petition for a
"Community Empowerment Act"
Be it enacted by the People, and by their authority:
Section 1. Purpose.
This Act, which shall be called the "Community Empowerment Act",
is intended to secure the rights and powers of towns and cities
to regulate the development and use of land and buildings in
keeping with the character of their communities, especially when
a town or city finds that it or a community within its
jurisdiction is faced with conditions that threaten its stability
and cohesion.
Section 2. Definition of Emergency.
For purposes of this Act, an emergency shall be defined as and
said to exist when a town or city, or a community within its
jurisdiction, faces conditions that threaten the community's
stability and cohesion or the health, safety, and convenience of
its residents. Such conditions include, but are not limited to:
a. expansion of tax exempt institutions where these already
occupy a substantial part of the community's land area,
b. speculative development of natural land, wetlands, or
agricultural land,
c. more than 7.5% annual expansion of the housing stock,
d. displacement of renter households by evictions, rent
increases, or condominium conversion,
e. loss of federal and state financial support, especially
for housing low-income households,
f. loss of places vital to the historical continuity of
community.
For purposes of the Act, community shall mean a population
defining itself around shared institutions including, but not
limited to, school districts and centralized commercial districts
containing retail, professional, and other interdependent civic
institutions, as a town or city; or as any subdivision thereof
which is recognized by the local Planning Board or where none
exists, by another local regulatory body with jurisdiction over
land; or as a neighborhood or township; but not a census tract or
electoral precinct or district. Speculative development shall
mean development engaged in or produced for a general and open
commodity market rather than for specific clients for purchasers.
Section 3. Applicability and Scope.
Notwithstanding any existing law to the contrary, any town or
city facing an emergency as defined in Section 2 may, upon a
declaration of such emergency:
a. require removal permits be sought and obtained before the
current use of an existing structure, whether it be residential
or commercial, is converted to some other use, including
institutional use, provided that:
(1) reasonable criteria consistent with the purpose of this
Act, and with the definition of emergency stated herein, for
granting or denying such permits be codified by local ordinance
or by-law; and
(2) a local board shall be established, or existing board be
empowered, to carry out the purposes of this provision.
b. set a limit on the number of building permits granted for
the construction of new buildings on undeveloped lots in any
given time period or over them course of the emergency, provided
that:
(1) if any special criteria are to be used in allotting or
granting the permits, these criteria must be reasonably related
to the declared emergency and shall be codified by local
ordinance or by-law, and a local board shall be established, or
existing board be empowered, to carry out the purposes of any
such ordinance or by-law; and
(2) upon public advertisement of a proposed ordinance or by-
law under this provision of this Act, an immediate moratorium on
the granting of such permits shall take effect until the
ordinance or by-law is approved or denied; but no such moratorium
shall affect permits requested by community residents on land on
or immediately contiguous to their domiciles; nor may the
provision for a moratorium be exercised on the same land more
than once in two years; a moratorium shall expire upon enactment
of ordinance or by-law under Section 3(b) of this Act, or in
sixty days if no such ordinance or by-law is enacted.
c. adopt any or all of the following measures intended to
stabilize the tenure of households at risk:
(1) allowance of the eviction of tenant households only for
specified just cause, where all just causes shall be enumerated
by local ordinance or by-law;
(2) a limit by percentage of any increase in rent for tenant
households in any given year or twelve-month period, provided
that:
(i) the percentage shall be no less than 5%; and
(ii) landlords may seek and obtain higher increases upon a
showing of actual costs incurred in maintaining the housing
unit(s) in question to a local administration board.
(3) further regulations to allow rents to be set on the basis
of the actual costs of operating and maintaining existing
housing, provided that:
(i) landlords shall be guaranteed a fair net operating income
from their properties
(ii) only those housing units operated by landlords as a
business, as opposed to space rented out in one's home, shall be
subject to these regulations, for which purpose a city or town
shall determine how many units of housing in an owner-occupied
structure will constitute space rented out in one's home,
provided that such a number be no less than three or no more than
ten;
(iii) the initial maximum rent levels for subject housing units
shall be set at the rent charged six months prior to action under
this provision of Section 3 (c) of this Act by any town or city,
or any other suitable prior date to safeguard against rapid
escalations in rent intended to defeat the purposes of this Act;
and
(iv) a local administrative board shall be established or
existing board be empowered to effectuate and enforce this
provision of the Act.
For Purposes of Section 3(c) of this Act, tenant households shall
include all renters in privately owned properties and those
living in housing affected by government subsidy programs,
including "expiring use" properties; except where such dwelling
units or properties are otherwise specifically exempted from such
local housing measures.
Section 4. Local Option.
Any measure provided for under Section 3 of this Act may be
adopted by a majority vote of the legislative body of any town or
city, subject to mayoral or other executive veto where
applicable, and may be rescinded in like manner. Any measure may
also be adopted by voters through a local initiative petition
where applicable. Approval of any such measure shall be
accompanied by a declaration in the form of specific findings
that local conditions constitute a serious emergency requiring
local action, on account of the aggravating impact of factors
such as those set forth in Section 2 of this Act.
Section 5. Standards for Implementation.
Any board established or empowered under this Act shall be
subject to Chapter 30A, the Administrative Procedures Act, and
shall be established or empowered to act within thirty days after
passage of the appropriate ordinance or by-law. Where more than
one measure is adopted, the task of administration may be
consolidated into one board, if appropriate. Towns and cities may
provide reasonable civil, legal, and equitable remedies for
violations of any measure approved or local ordinance enacted
under this Act.
Section 6. Home Rule Provision.
Nothing in this Act shall preclude towns and cities from filing
home rule petitions for emergency legislation as well when faced
with conditions that threaten a community's stability and
cohesion.
Section 7. Local Aid Calculation.
If town or city regulations under Section 3 of this Act should
result in lower property tax valuations, and this impairs total
receipts, state officials calculating Local Aid pursuant to any
statutory formula that depends in part on local property tax
receipts, may correct for this factor.
Section 8. Regulations to Limit Condominium Conversion Amended.
The second paragraph of Section 2 of Chapter 527 of the Acts of
1983, the State Condominium Conversion Law, is hereby repealed,
and is replaced with:
"Any city or town may, by ordinance or by-law, impose provisions
or requirements to regulate for the protection of tenants with,
respect to the conversion of housing accommodations to the
condominium or cooperative forms of ownership and evictions
related thereto which differ from those set fourth in this act,
upon a majority vote in the case of a city, or a majority vote of
a town meeting, or town council, in the case of a town; provided,
however, that no such ordinance or by-law which imposed
additional provisions or requirements than those set forth in
this act shall be applicable to any of the following housing
accommodations: (i) housing accommodations constructed or
converted from a non-housing to a housing use after the effective
date of this act; (ii) housing accommodations which were
constructed or substantially rehabilitated pursuant to any
federal mortgage insurance program, without any interest subsidy
or tenant subsidy attached thereto; and (iii) housing
accommodations financed through the Massac
usetts Housing Finance Agency with an interest subsidy attached
thereto."
Section 9. Procedures for Zoning Change Amended.
The fourth paragraph of Section 5 of Chapter 40A of the General
Laws is hereby repealed , and is replaced with:
"No zoning ordinance or by-law shall be adopted or changed except
by two-thirds vote of all the members of the town council, or of
the city council where there is a commission form of government
or a single branch, of each branch where there are two branches,
or by a two-thirds vote of a town meeting.
Section 10: Grandfathering of Plans Filed Prior to Changes in
Zoning Ordinance When Emergency is Declared.
The following paragraph shall be inserted after the fifth
paragraph of Section 6 of Chapter 40A of the General Laws:
"Where a city or town adopts a measure pursuant to Section 3(b)
of the Community Empowerment Act and for the course of the
emergency declared under said Act, if a definitive plan is
submitted to a planning board for approval under the subdivision
control law, and written notice of such submission has been given
to the city or town clerk before the effective date of ordinance
or by-law, the land shown on such plan shall be governed by the
applicable provisions of the zoning ordinance or by-law, if any,
in effect at the time of the first such submission while such
plan or plans are being processed under the subdivision control
law, and, if such definitive plan or an amendment thereof is
finally approved, for three years from the date of the
endorsement of such approval, except in the case where such plan
was submitted or submitted and approved before January first,
nineteen hundred and seventy-six, for seven years from the date
of the endorsement of such approval. Whether such period is three
years or seven yea
s, it shall be extended by a period equal to the time which a
city or town imposes or has imposed upon it by a state, a federal
agency or a court, a moratorium on construction, the issuance of
permits or utility connections.
Section 11. Existing Regional Plans Unaffected.
Measures adopted under this Act shall be construed as additional
protections to enable cities and towns to proceed with orderly
development, beyond existing regional plans as of the day of
enactment.
Section 12. Historic Districts Unaffected.
Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority now vested in
cities and towns under Chapter 40C of the General Laws to
establish and maintain historic districts.
Section 13. Rights Also Protected.
a. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit a taking
of property. The Administering Board under any provision of this
Act shall issue a variance where a property owner demonstrates
that to deny a variance from any requirement implied or pursuant
to this Act would constitute a taking of property that would
require compensation under the Constitution of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts or of the United States of America.
b. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit
violation of any law against discrimination.
Section 14: Effectiveness.
This Act shall be effective as of December 1, 1996.
Section 15: Severability.
If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision
to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, the validity
of the remainder of this Act and the applicability of such
provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be
affected thereby.
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