ARGEO PAUL CELLUCCI GOVERNOR

JANE SWIFT LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

June 22, 2000

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:

I am filing today for your consideration the attached bill entitled "An Act Facilitating the Development of Underutilized Facilities and Properties for Housing in the Commonwealth." The bill creates a new program that will make unused state property available for housing development.

This bill eliminates much of the bureaucratic "red tape" currently associated with the disposition of unused state property, allowing the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to more quickly make this property available for housing development. Under this bill, DCAMM is authorized to transfer unused property to the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, which will market the property for housing development, or to transfer the property directly to housing developers. In both cases, plans for future development of the property must be approved by the Department of Housing and Community Development, which will ensure that such plans include housing for households across a broad range of incomes, and must be consistent with any locally approved reuse plan. Although sections of the property may be protected as open space or be earmarked for commercial development, at least part of it must be developed as housing. Proceeds from the sale of property by MDFA will be used to clean up contaminated state land and prepare it for reuse.

Our administration already has identified 1,000 acres of unused state property that may be suitable for housing development. In a time when so many of our citizens are unable to find housing for their families, it makes sense to make this property available for the development of new housing. I appreciate your early and favorable consideration of this important legislation.

Respectfully submitted,

(Argeo Paul Cellucci)
Argeo Paul Cellucci
Governor

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. It is the policy of the commonwealth to encourage the development of housing for its citizens. Consistent with that policy, it is the commonwealth's intent, when feasible, to expedite making available underutilized property, which is owned by the commonwealth and determined to be not needed for current or foreseeable state or direct public use pursuant to Section 40F of chapter 7 of the General Laws, for the primary purpose of creating or redeveloping housing on such property.

SECTION 2. Chapter 7 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1998 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after section 40F, the following section:

Section 40F. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Agency", the massachusetts development finance agency established pursuant to chapter 23G.
(2) "Agency transfer request", a request provided by the agency to the commissioner in response to the agency's receipt of notification from the commissioner pursuant to paragraph 2 of subsection (a) of section 40F of chapter 7 that all or part of the surplus property which is the subject of said notification be transferred to the agency for disposition by the agency for housing development. Such request shall contain all of the terms and conditions upon which the agency would accept transfer of such land.
(3) "Commissioner", the commissioner of the division. (4) "Department", the department of housing and community development.
(5) "Director", the director of the department.
(6) "Division", the division of capital asset management and maintenance.
(7) "Housing", single- and multi-family housing.
(8) "Housing Development", the development or rehabilitation on potential housing property of a significant number of units of housing, as determined by the director and the commissioner, and, in the case of an agency transfer request, as determined by the agency, the director and the commissioner; provided, however, that the development of such housing units may be accompanied by commercial, recreational, industrial, municipal or other non-residential development or by proposals to preserve land as open space, so long as such other non-residential use of the property is not inconsistent with the development of said units of housing. All housing development must be consistent with the reuse plan approved by the commissioner and the community or communities where the property is located, and the commissioner must take into consideration any other local plan approved by said community or communities or prepared by the elected officials of the municipality where the property is located.
(9) "Potential housing property", state-owned land that (i) has been determined by the commissioner, acting pursuant to section 40F of chapter 7, to be surplus as to both the current and foreseeable needs of state agencies and to public agencies for direct public use, (ii) is not subject to article XC VII of the articles of amendment of the constitution of the commonwealth, and (iii) is determined by the commissioner and the director to be suitable for use for housing or housing development. In determining whether said land is suitable for use for housing or housing development, the commissioner and director shall consider the local reuse plan approved by the commissioner and any other local plans adopted by the community or communities where the land is located or prepared by the elected officials of the municipality in which such land is located.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 40E through 40F of chapter 7, but in accordance with the provisions of this section, the commissioner is hereby authorized, if no agency transfer request for a potential housing property is submitted to the commissioner, to sell, lease for a term or terms which in the aggregate do not exceed ninety-nine years, transfer or otherwise dispose of such potential housing property for housing development purposes subject to the provisions of this section.

(d) Any potential housing property transferred to the agency pursuant to subsection (b) shall be treated in all respects by the agency as surplus state lands under the terms and provisions of chapter 23G. Net proceeds received by the agency from the final disposition by the agency to a third party of any potential housing property transferred to the agency pursuant to subsection (b) shall, after reimbursement to the agency of land preparation, remediation and other related costs directly incurred by the agency and payment of other reasonable administrative fees as outlined in the agency transfer request, be deposited into a fund established and maintained by the agency to be known as the Mass Development Housing Fund for the purpose of housing development, including, without limitation, environmental remediation, land preparation and other costs with respect to land transferred to the agency pursuant to said subsection.

(e) The agency and the division shall ensure that any potential housing property conveyed pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) is used for housing development purposes.

(f)(1) Any disposition of potential housing property by the division pursuant to subsection (c) shall be subject to such reuse restrictions, if any, as the commissioner shall deem necessary, provided that any such reuse restrictions must first be approved by the director. In determining such reuse restrictions, the commissioner shall consult with elected officials of the municipality in which such potential housing property is located. If the commissioner has approved a reuse plan for said community, the reuse restrictions determined by the commissioner shall be consistent with said plan.

(2) With respect to any potential housing property conveyed by the division pursuant to subsection (c), (A) The price paid for any sale, lease, conveyance or disposition of such potential housing property shall be the full and fair market value of said property as determined by independent appraisal, taking into consideration its use for housing development purposes and any restrictions imposed by the commissioner pursuant to this section.

(B) The recipients of any such property shall be responsible for the costs of any appraisals; surveys, including, without limitation, the costs in full of preparing a recordable survey and the costs of recording said plan with the appropriate registry of deeds or filing said plan with the appropriate registry district of the land court; and other expenses relating to the transfer of said property deemed necessary by the commissioner for the conveyance of said property. [END OF BILL]