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Malden to remove development cap, amend MBTA overlay map to win state approval
Summary
The Planning Board recommended the City Council adopt changes to the MBTA Communities multifamily overlay to delete a local development cap and update the overlay map, a move staff said will bring Malden into full compliance with the state's conditional approval.
The Malden Planning Board on May 14 recommended that the City Council adopt zoning amendments to the MBTA Communities multifamily overlay that delete a development cap and revise district boundaries so the city can achieve full compliance with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
Councilor Steve Winslow, sponsor of city council paper CCP 171 of 2025, said the amendments respond to the state’s conditional compliance letter and are intended to align the city’s ordinance with the state’s interpretation of the MBTA Communities Act. “They gave conditional compliance, and we just have to make a change to conform our districts with that,” Winslow said.
Planner Michelle (city planner) pointed the board to an 11/08/2024 letter from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (in the packet) that identified two recommended revisions. She said the city must delete language creating a local development cap in the MCMOD-MD1 subdistrict and remove an ordinance effective-date clause that tied effectiveness to final state approval. Those changes, Michelle said, would allow the state to grant full approval of Malden’s district compliance application.
The staff report outlined key program facts required by state law: Malden must provide zoning capacity for 6,930 multifamily units (25% of the city’s 2020 housing units) in a minimum of 31 acres of properly zoned, developable land within a half-mile of transit stations; 50% of that capacity must lie within a half-mile of Malden Center or Oak Grove rapid transit stations. The proposed amendments adjust district boundaries (removing 474–488 Broadway and adding parts of the Overlook Ridge parcel and other assessor parcels) and delete the cap limitation.
The Planning Board voted to recommend approval of the amendments as submitted, with a note that the official map should carry the City Council’s ordinance date as the revised map date. The recommendation will be sent to the City Council for final action; staff reminded the board the council must act within 90 days of the public hearing closing (deadline Aug. 12, 2025, if closed May 14).
No members of the public testified in favor or in opposition during the hearing on this paper. Michelle said the State stands ready to approve Malden’s compliance application once the recommended changes are adopted and the map is updated.
