Town centers seen as ripe for growth
Village centers versus sprawled-out suburbs. Commutes via rail instead of cars stuck for hours in gridlock. Walking to nearby shops rather than driving to the mall.
To some, it might sound utopian. But officials at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council say they believe area residents have little choice but to embrace so-called smart growth in their community centers unless they want more congestion, increasingly haphazard development, and declining public services.
"If you talk to somebody about what they would hope their grandchildren would experience in Greater Boston, they would describe the ability to take a stroll with their grandchild downtown," said Amy Cotter, a planner at the MAPC, a regional planning agency that oversees development in 101 communities in Eastern Massachusetts. "We need to be investing in revitalization. We need low-rise development, mixed use, that really characterizes our successful New England downtowns."
Citing Natick and Needham as examples, MAPC officials are scheduled on Tuesday to kick off MetroFuture, a campaign to help local officials attract development while saving money, open space, and the character of their communities. From requiring builders to pay more for infrastructure to promoting more housing near train stations, MAPC officials said, the plan is an antidote to the sprawl that threatens to choke the region if current trends continue.
"People are interested in living in downtowns with services and amenities," said Cotter. "That's not only more cost-effective for them, it's more cost-effective for the city and town that needs to drive farther and farther to collect trash or provide water."
A representative of the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts raised concerns about the plan, saying it could result in intrusive regulations that would stifle economic growth.
"We build what people want," said Mark Kablack, a member of the industry group's board of directors. "Building and development is a business. You only build things that are going to be attractive to people."
But Kablack acknowledged that builders also see the benefits of rethinking development in an area where open land is increasingly scarce.
"We need more housing in the state," he said. "There is a dire need for it, and we can only do it through density."
Reports issued as part of MetroFuture said approximately 550,000 new residents are expected to settle in the Boston area by 2030, a 13 percent increase. That is less than half of the average population growth anticipated nationally, but would nonetheless require almost 350,000 new housing units. That growth would also result in almost 300,000 new jobs by 2030, a 12 percent increase.
Since most suburbs around Boston are almost built out, it's unclear where those newcomers would live and work, said MAPC executive director Marc Draisen.
"Naturally it's slow right now," he said. "But the economy is going to come back. Those homes will be needed. Those jobs will be needed. But it's critical that we have enhanced infrastructure."
At the same time, as the area's baby boomers grow older, the over-55 population is expected to increase by almost 80 percent. Eventually, those people will need to give up their cars and either walk around town or depend on the region's public transportation systems.
"This is our future, the aging population," said Cotter. "But a lot of our development does not anticipate people who are aging and have physical limitations. What kind of future are they facing?"
In Natick, officials are anticipating the changes by approving denser housing on the eastern edge of the town center, where a special zoning district was created by Town Meeting members in spring 2004. Since then, three projects with about 60 units of condos and townhouses have been built, with some units occupied recently, officials said.
Natick officials also recently approved a development with 138 apartments and 12 townhouses in a former paperboard factory on North Main Street, near the MBTA's Natick Station commuter rail stop.
"We want to make the town center vibrant," said Planning Board chairman Robert Foster. "It means open space outside the town center isn't chewed up with development."
Needham officials are also hoping to bulk up their downtown, where builders couldn't construct anything taller than 2 1/2 stories until Town Meeting members last month approved zoning changes to allow redevelopment that adds an extra floor or two.
"I see it as going back in time to the preautomotive development that existed downtown at the turn of the century," said Planning Board member Jeanne McKnight.
Kablack questioned whether Needham would achieve its goal of a denser downtown with the changes, however. To build the taller structures, developers can't simply draft plans and apply for permission under the new rules. They need to receive special permits from the Planning Board or another town panel, a cumbersome process, he said. Many town center redevelopment plans include the special permits, he said, often making them unrealistic.
"If there is at all any political blowback from the community, if the community for some reason or another doesn't want the development to happen, the permitting process becomes very much more complicated and difficult to achieve," said Kablack. "I'd much rather go down to an empty lot."
MAPC officials acknowledged Kablack's concerns, but said towns need more control. If current trends continue, they said, more development will be pushed farther away from Boston, forcing towns that now have more empty lots to continue to raise taxes and build more streets, water mains, and schools to handle the influx.
The MetroFuture plan also suggests having developers pay impact fees, to cover infrastructure improvements, as an incentive for them to redevelop existing parcels rather than build on open space, said Draisen. Currently, municipalities negotiate with builders for improvements case by case. A more codified system would ensure the town doesn't end up with the short end of the stick, he said.
"A lot of communities don't really have the ability to negotiate a good deal," said Draisen. "If a developer is encouraged by this system to go and build a project near infrastructure where his impacts will be limited, that's great from a smart growth perspective." 