Grants are available to the Commonwealth’s municipalities, and Regional - Planning Agencies acting on their behalf to support their efforts to plan, regulate (zone), and act to conserve and develop land consistent with the Massachusetts’ Sustainable Development Principles.
These Planning Assistance Grants are part of an effort to encourage municipalities to implement land use regulations that are consistent with the Administration’s land conservation and development objectives including reduction of land, energy, and natural resource consumption, provision of sufficient and diverse housing, and mitigation of/preparation for climate change. Funds help communities retain appropriate technical expertise and undertake the public process associated with creating plans and adopting land use regulations.
Priorities for Program spending include:
- Zoning for sustainable housing production, including zoning to address compliance with Section 3A of the Zoning Act (MBTA Communities) or any of the Housing Choice Best Practices (e.g. Accessory Dwelling Units, 40R Smart Growth Zoning, Transit Oriented Development, or Mixed-Use zoning);
- Mitigation of climate change through zoning and other regulations that reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions via a better mix of land uses, more compact growth, enhanced design, etc.; and
- Zoning that results in permanent land conservation (e.g. Natural Resource Protection Zoning or Transfer of Development Rights).
FY24 Planning Grants
The Request for Proposals for the FY24 round has been issued; proposals are due on May 26th. The FY24 Planning Assistance Grant BID Document can be found here, and on the state’s COMMBUYS procurement website.
Past Grant Rounds:
FY18 Grants: $1,296,219 was awarded to 37 applicants
FY19 Grants: $1,030,659 was awarded to 31 applicants
FY20 Grants: $1,072,175 was awarded to 21 applicants
FY21 Grants: $1,153,000 was awarded to 29 applicants
FY22 Grants: $1,452,098 was awarded to 35 applicants
FY23 Grants: $1,217,619 was awarded to 26 applicants
Contact: Kurt.Gaertner@mass.gov or 857-338-5935