Public Planning, Research, and Implementation, Inc.
Working under a technical assistance contract with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and MassHousing Partnership, PPRI recently completed studies and education work to assist five Massachusetts communities achieve compliance under the new “MBTA/3A” multifamily housing requirements.
Projects were completed in Halifax, Holbrook, Medford, Topsfield, and Wakefield.
Under a statewide technical assistance contract, PPRI worked with planners in the town of Topsfield, MA to develop, analyze, and implement new zoning for “by-right” multifamily housing, consistent with the state’s “MBTA 3A Multifamily Zoning” requirements (Section 3A of MGL c. 40A).
The proposed zoning bylaw, which included a new 15.8 acre overlay district capable of supporting up to 118 units of new by-right multifamily housing, was approved in Spring, 2024 by more than two-thirds of the voters.
Working with Levine Planning Strategies, PPRI assisted the Town of Hallowell, Maine in updating their Comprehensive Plan under the requirements of the state’s Growth Management Act. The final, approved plan included updated demographic and economic data, housing projections, surveys of environmental and cultural resources, and detailed recommendations to steer development in the town in the coming decades.