Massachusetts Chapter 40Y — Starter Home Zoning Districts (Opt-In) (MA)
Tracked preemption from the Massachusetts overlay bundle.
Overview
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Effective
2023-04-04
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:MA
Other Massachusetts preemptions
Massachusetts MBTA Communities Act — Multi-Family Zoning Requirement (MGL c. 40A §3A)Massachusetts Chapter 40S — Smart Growth School Cost ReimbursementMassachusetts Chapter 40R — Smart Growth Zoning Overlay District (Opt-In)Massachusetts Rivers Protection Act — Riverfront Area (MGL c. 131 §40)Boston Planning Department (former BPDA) Article 80 Development ReviewMassachusetts Outstanding Resource Waters & DCR Watershed ProtectionCape Cod Commission Regional Land Use Authority (St. 1989, c. 716)Massachusetts Solar PV Siting — DOER Statutory Preference (MGL c. 40A §3 ¶9)
Trigger predicate
When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.
never true
Preempted fields
0 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.
Citation
Authority source
MGL c. 40Y (Acts of 2022, c. 268 §§29-30, signed Jan 4 2023, effective Apr 4 2023); 760 CMR implementing regs (EOHLC, finalized 2024)
§ MGL c. 40Y §§1-8
Research notes
Voluntary opt-in companion to Chapter 40R, targeted at smaller-footprint starter homes (≤1,850 sf was the prior 40R Starter Home Overlay carve-out; 40Y now stands alone). Minimum requirements (§3): density ≥4 units/acre of developable land as of right; ≥50% of units must have 3+ bedrooms; ≥10% affordable to households ≤110% AMI in developments >12 units; districts cannot be age-restricted; ADUs ≤600 sf permitted on same lot; combined 40Y land in a municipality ≤15% of total municipal area (waivable by EOHLC). Cities receive Zoning Incentive Payments (sliding scale by district size) plus Density Bonus Payments per unit built. Healey-Driscoll Administration launched program operationally in 2024 with first district approvals in 2025. Not a preemption — included for catalog completeness; adoption is local action and the resulting district is recorded as a city-scope overlay. Predicate 'never' = catalog only.