The Charles River Regional Chamber’s annual Real Estate Forum was palpably optimistic about the future of housing in Massachusetts in a meeting last Tuesday, discussing the impact of the 2021 MBTA Communities Act, as well as the potential for new state legislation.

“What I think was really exciting about it was that shift—that the state is actually mandating, communities are then planning,” said Rachel Heller, the CEO of Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association, on the MBTA law. “And that’s a really important point, too. I think for too long, we’ve been using zoning to say ‘no,’ and we haven’t been planning.”

The Charles River Regional Chamber represents the interests of businesses, companies and other institutions in Newton, Needham, Watertown and Wellesley. Its annual Real Estate Forum featured five speakers.

Katherine Levine Einstein, a professor at Boston University, presented slides she compiled with her colleague, Maxwell Palmer. Using Wellesley, Needham and Lexington as case studies, Einstein explained how each approached the MBTA provisions.

The law required that 177 communities rezone areas near transit stops for multifamily housing. Einstein and Palmer were interested in variations among communities’ compliance.

“Lexington had this ambitious plan that zoned well above minimum requirements, including in a few single-family neighborhoods,” Einstein said. “In Needham, there was an initially ambitious plan that was ultimately overturned in a ballot referendum, and it was replaced with a very aptly named ‘base compliance plan.’ Neither plan included single-family neighborhoods. Finally, in Wellesley, there was a no-drama compliance.”

Heller was then joined by Andrew Mikula, a senior housing fellow at Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, and Jesse Kanson-Benanav, the executive director at Abundant Housing MA, to discuss how to build new housing and how to make it more affordable. Mikula brought up a ballot question that he is advocating for, Legalize Starter Homes (LSH).

“Massachusetts is the hardest state in the country for young adults to buy a home,” Mikula said. “Seniors in the suburbs are trapped in their homes because they don’t have somewhere nearby to downsize. Small business owners have a hard time attracting and retaining employees, because those employees can’t find or afford a home.”

The panelists explained proposed solutions in LSH and current state bills S.2647 and S.2836. Some crucial initiatives are to eliminate minimum lot sizes, fix outdated building codes, streamline legal appeals to avoid nuisance lawsuits, get faith-based organizations on board with new housing on their property, and avoid unnecessary parking, explained Kanson-Benanav.

“The arbitrary parking ratios that we’re applying to new development result in parking being built that adds to the cost of building new homes, but is underutilized by the ultimate owners or tenants of that housing,” Kanson-Benanav said.

The final guest speaker was Massachusetts Senator Will Brownsberger. Brownsberger diverged from the panelists about how soon certain legislation should be passed, suggesting that the state should wait for a year or two.

“We have put communities through a lot over the past few years with the MBTA zoning,” Brownsberger said. “And so I think it would land with a thud if we then basically passed a much more aggressive statewide zoning plan.”

Panelists suggested that focusing more on reform—apart from zoning—wouldn’t require intensive local votes, striking a balance between progress and respect for communities experiencing “zoning fatigue.”

“That’s why we focus on family-oriented housing,” Mikula said. “That’s why we don’t require communities to rezone themselves—because we have reforms in the pipeline that are incremental but cover a broad scope.”

There was a consensus of gratitude among the panelists for all housing advocates and a desire to keep the momentum going.

“It’s been great to see so many advocates on this call, and make sure as things are moving forward in the Senate that we’re also putting some pressure on the House to act,” said Kanson-Benanav.