Massachusetts Legislators pass legislation with good intentions that frequently have long-term unintended and unforeseen consequences.
In a reasonable attempt to provide lower cost housing, the legislature ensured that mobile home park residents would pay $144 excise tax each year for their mobile homes.
It would seem that their sincere attempt was to assure that places like Hill Crest remained affordable to residents who had spent their lives in a community, but once retired, were on reduced and fixed incomes.
That sincere attempt created Oak Point, where many have argued that the homes are modular homes, with untaxed sheds and garages.
Oak Point residents pay park fees to Saxon Partners, so had no way of knowing their annual contributions to Middleboro were only $144.
Their fees for amenities (club houses, pools, lawn mowing, snow plowing, trash removal) in fairness, are pretty steep, but don't go to the Town.
It has been estimated that were Oak Point residents to pay taxes on their homes at the same rate as other homeowners, it would provide the Town with + $ 1 Million annually.
But there's a further complicating issue of unspoken impact.
The Legislature, in efforts to ensure 'affordable housing,' passed the now infamous 40B.
To simply explain: the goal is to assure that 10% of each town's housing stock is 'affordable'; it allows developers to construct 40B subdivisions at higher densities than allowed under local zoning with the provision that 25% of the newly constructed units will be 'affordable.'
Those 'affordable units' are permanently deed restricted and will pay a reduced real estate property tax.
Oak Point constitutes 'housing units,' and as such, are added to the mix when calculating Middleboro's 10% affordable housing goal.
For each 100 units that are added to Oak Point, Middleboro MUST ADD 10 affordable units, but it gets more complicated than that.
Since a 40B developer must dedicate 25% of his new construction to 'affordable housing,' to balance those 10 units caused JUST BY NEW OAK POINT EXPANSION, he must build 40 new homes. (Of his 40 new homes, 25% or 10 units will be 'affordable.')
Part of the solution is to have Oak Point absorb the 'affordable housing.' Part of the solution is for the legislature to correct those 2 pieces of legislation.
Have you heard Middleboro Selectmen address the issue or offer solutions? Below is Bridgewater's solution.
Bridgewater zoning change could add 500 units of housing
Bridgewater bylaw changes would aid Bridgewater State College
By Theresa Knapp Enos, Enterprise correspondent
BRIDGEWATER —Zoning bylaw changes make up the bulk of this year's 66-page fall town meeting warrant, 30 of those pages are dedicated to the proposed Waterford Village Smart Growth Overlay District.
By Theresa Knapp Enos, Enterprise correspondent
BRIDGEWATER —Zoning bylaw changes make up the bulk of this year's 66-page fall town meeting warrant, 30 of those pages are dedicated to the proposed Waterford Village Smart Growth Overlay District.
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