SWAMPSCOTT — A stretch of Railroad Avenue near the Swampscott commuter rail station could become the focus of the town’s next major housing initiative. 

The Planning Board is beginning discussions on creating a Chapter 40R Smart Growth Overlay District around the station, a zoning tool that could encourage mixed-use and affordable housing development while still allowing the town some flexibility in how future growth takes shape. 

Senior Planner Christa McGaha presented the concept at the board’s June meeting, describing it as one of several options for guiding future development in the area. The proposed district would include two Swampscott Housing Authority sites and could provide a framework for future development in an advantageous transit area. 

“This could be a 40R over the train station,” McGaha said. “There are a lot of reasons supporting that in terms of what 40R does and the benefits that we would get from having it be a 40R rather than just an MBTA 3A.” 

Chapter 40R is a state program designed to encourage housing growth in areas near transit and commercial centers. Unlike the 3A MBTA Communities Act zoning adopted by Swampscott in 2024, a 40R district is voluntary and includes affordability requirements. Developments built under the program must set aside 20% of their units as affordable housing, and participating communities are eligible for state incentive payments and reimbursements tied to housing production. 

Planning Board member Angela Ippolito said those incentives are one of the program’s major advantages. 

“When you build these things … the state actually reimburses you for every unit that gets built,” Ippolito said. “Because it’s specifically targeted at a population that needs help with affordability.” 

Though Ippolito cautioned that those state incentives come with rigid regulations for housing in terms of the number of units built per acre, occupancy, and design, McGaha said a 40R district does give municipalities flexibility for things like parking space and commercial development.

“40R districts are made for mixed-use,” McGaha said. “It’s very common for them to be around commuter rail stations because that’s basically one of the reasons for the smart growth overlay districts, for the walkable mixed-use in those types of areas.” 

McGaha also noted that two Swampscott Housing Authority buildings are located within the proposed district, which could help with plans to expand affordable offerings within whatever density parameters the town decides to place on the overlay. 

“It would allow for redevelopment of those sites in the future, within whatever guidelines were placed on this overlay district,” she said. “Which could be a benefit as well.” 

This type of overlay is not entirely new to Swampscott. Ippolito mentioned a previous effort to establish a 40R district before the COVID-19 pandemic, though she said that proposal ultimately expanded well beyond the initial transit area and ultimately failed to gain traction. 

“What started as a really well-intended transit-oriented 40R District … the thing just blew up,” she said. 

Board members said the current proposal might be easier for residents to understand and support because it is focused on a smaller area centered around the commuter rail station, rather than extending into broader sections of town. 

“I feel like this is a very sensible map, especially if we could stop it from taking on that sort of expansion,” board member Jer Jurma said. “I feel like it could be a real positive. And it’s clearly directed to the train line.” 

Jurma said the town’s adoption of the MBTA Communities zoning may also have helped the town set itself up for this next stage of development. 

“It’s a case of just having ourselves established for this type of growth,” he said. “I think it’s not quite as foreign now as it might have been when we were attempting a 40R pre-COVID.” 

The Railroad Avenue discussion comes as the board is also considering changes to the Humphrey Street Overlay District that would prioritize preserving ground-floor commercial space. Jurma suggested the two projects could complement one another while allowing the town to continue efforts to build and retain commercial revenue. 

“This doesn’t become a giant housing project,” he said. “It’s really about the mixed-use and the commercial and maintaining and valuing our commercial space.” 

No formal proposal is currently before the Planning Board, and no votes were taken at the meeting. If members decide to pursue a 40R district, public hearings would be required before any zoning changes could be considered at December Town Meeting. McGaha said she would return with a proposed timeline for that process as the board continues discussions on the potential district.