News Article Published in The Melrose Messenger on July 8, 2025

Melrose Rail Corridor Development is Driven By State Housing Law - By: Ellen Putnam - summarizes legislative constraints on the city with respect to 40B Developments and explores the strategies the city is using to maximize influence in the present and in the future

City and Commonwealth Publications

Melrose Housing Production Plan - Last updated Feb 2022, this is the Housing Production Plan that Melrose developed in conjunction with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) that enables claims of temporary Safe Harbor from 40B development

Melrose Forward: A Community Vision and Master Plan - Adopted in 2017 by the Melrose Planning Board

MAPC Study - Perfect Fit Parking: Improving the Way Developers and Planners Assess Parking Demand - Melrose was studied as part of Phase 1, raw data collected from Melrose parking lots is available for download

A Home for Everyone: Massachusetts' Statewide Housing Plan - The state's first comprehensive statewide housing plan that outlines the challenges facing Massachusetts, identifies needs on both a state and local level and sets goals for housing production and preservation

A Home for Everyone: A Housing Needs Assessment - This is a companion to the Statewide Housing Plan and is a compilation of selected research conducted by EOHLC and its consultant team of the UMass Donahue Institute, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and Dain Research

Studies on Economic Benefits of Housing Development

New Housing Production in Massachusetts: Fiscal Dynamics and Community Implications, 2019 - Written by two UMass professors using regression analysis to calculate the net fiscal impact of new housing production on Massachusetts and its cities and towns

The Costs and Hidden Benefits of New Housing Development in Massachusetts, 2016 - Studies communities that had local development and measures actual fiscal impacts at the local and state level

Smart Growth America: Building Better Budgets, 2013 - National study that looks at the costs associated with smart growth development and conventional suburban development, as well as both strategies’ revenue potential

Economic Contributions of Housing Permitted through Chapter 40B: Economic and Employment Linkages, 2010 - Studies the spending, economic linkages, and tax revenues that have resulted from the construction and occupancy of Chapter 40B-permitted housing constructed in Massachusetts from 2000 to April 2010

Studies on School Enrollment

Feb 2024 update on “The Waning Influence of Housing Production on Public School Enrollment” - Updated research with the latest data from the 2020 decennial census and school enrollment data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to inform the many municipal conversations about Massachusetts’ MBTA Communities Multifamily Zoning requirements

One Public School Child for Every Three Homes, 2020 - A detailed analysis of national data on school children per household that breaks down figures by state, type of home, recent movers vs longer tenure, and new construction vs old