Support H.2340 and H.2266: Repeal Housing Mandates in Massachusetts

Why it Matters

State Representative Paul K. Frost (R-Worcester) introduced House Bill No. 2266 (H.2266), and Representative Kenneth P. Sweezey (R-Duxbury) introduced House Bill No. 2340 (H.2340) to repeal Section 3A of the Zoning Act. This section, part of the 2021 Housing Choice Initiative, mandates that communities served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) change their zoning laws to allow multifamily housing near transit stations. The one-page bill is straightforward:

“SECTION 1. Section 3A of chapter 40A of the General Laws is hereby repealed.”

The bills are co-sponsored by Representatives Norman J. Orrall (R-Bristol), Marcus S. Vaughn (R-Norfolk), Colleen M. Garry (D-Middlesex), Steven S. Howitt (R-Bristol), Patrick Joseph Kearney (D-Plymouth), John R. Gaskey (R-Plymouth), Joseph D. McKenna (R-Worcester), Paul K. Frost (R-Worcester), Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-Middlesex), Alyson M. Sullivan-Almeida (R-Plymouth), and Justin Thurber (R-Bristol).

The proposed legislation would repeal the provisions enacted under the Housing Choice Initiative that force MBTA-served communities to create zoning districts for multifamily housing. This mandate overrides local-government decision-making, forcing towns to permit high-density developments that could overburden infrastructure, alter community character, and impose unwanted changes on residents.

Section 3A forces suburbs and towns to surrender zoning authority, and is a one small part of the larger United Nations’ Agenda 2030 plan to erode private property rights, mandate high-density urban planning, and pack populations into controlled “15-minute city” areas.

By eliminating this provision, H.2340 would end the state’s pressure on local municipalities to build high density housing, and restore the right of towns to determine their own development. It would restore local authority in Massachusetts law, upholding the rights of communities to self-determination as protected by foundational principles of freedom and limited government.

Declaring multifamily zoning a state “requirement” sets a dangerous precedent for further mandates on other forms of progressive social engineering.

Massachusetts ought to reject top-down mandates such as Section 3A, along with other intrusive methods of central planning. Local control is a fundamental aspect of freedom. By repealing this overreach, it would stop government central-planning housing policy that prioritizes state-dictated mandates over the well-being and preferences of local residents.

Government should never be allowed to engage in central planning, regardless of the justification for imposing these measures. Urge your state legislators to support H.2266 and H.2340. Also, contact Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government Chairpersons, Senator Rebecca L. Rausch, and Representative Jack Patrick Lewis, ask them to support this legislation, and protect the right to local control.