Trust discusses draft local‑option tax exemption to incentivize privately owned affordable units

Trustees reviewed a draft local‑option property tax exemption bylaw that would allow the town to grant property tax relief proportionate to the livable square footage of a rental unit when the landlord agrees to rent it at an affordable rate.

The draft follows Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 59 §5O (referred to in the meeting as '5 0') and would let the select board adopt regulations for program details such as AMI thresholds, monitoring and withdrawal procedures. Trust staff emphasized the need to exclude units already required to be affordable by permit, deed restriction or court order so the exemption does not duplicate existing obligations.

The draft includes tenant protections on withdrawal: a notice period and a three‑year phased rent increase limit (CPI plus 3%) after a landlord exits the program to reduce displacement risk. Trustees discussed limiting eligibility to smaller multifamily properties or to units that are marketed (not intracompany or immediate‑family arrangements) and agreed these items should be refined by the working group and the select board’s regulatory process.

The trust voted to submit the draft bylaw as a placeholder for the upcoming warrant submission deadline and will continue to develop recommended regulations to present to the select board.