Vote No on Southcoast Rail

11/08/2022

Tomorrow is the Day Please Vote No on joining the MBTA. The MBTA is currently billions behind in deferred maintenance and millions of dollars underfunded in their operating budget. Why are we adding to a service we can't afford today? This will put the city on the hook to help fund these deficits in the future.

This will also remove local control over Zoning around the station. The state enacted a new law/policy that at a minimum within 1/2 mile of all MBTA stations a municipality must allow by right apartment buildings with a minimum of 15 units on 1 acre of land.

The housing and rental stock will become harder to find as well as raise the price of homes and rents. Many house and apartment complexs around New Bedfora have been purchased by investment firms and out of town landlords. The new owners are clearing out the current residents and raising the rates to offer the units to people moving in from outside the city. With the inflated purchase prices this will cause reassement of other homes and cause their assesed values to increase more than normal increases. Meaning higher taxes for city residents.

To this day the MBTA refuses to inform us on how many trips the train will take a day, what time those trips will take place at, how much a ticket will be, what the yearly cost for this new service will be, and how they will police the parking lots. The city will not answer how they plan to make sure commuters park in the parking lots and not in the neighborhood, how they will deal with the extra traffic, and how they will help the New Bedford residents who are losing their housing to increase in rent or inflated tax assessments.

We need answers to all these questions before we allow these trains into the city. If and when these issues have been addressed this vote can come back to the city. Please Vote No on Southcoast Rail

11/03/2022

Why should New Bedford bailout the MBTA? Once we are part of this program we will need to pay for it.

By 2024, the MBTA will be facing a nearly half-billion-dollar operating budget deficit, leaving the agency with few options other than layoffs, service cuts ...

11/01/2022

Happy Halloween. Remember to Vote No on Southcoast Rail on November 8, 2022.

10/26/2022

This will only get worse if we don't Vote No on Southcoast Rail on November 8th

'A sense of urgency' after tenants given month to leave NB apartments

10/25/2022

Please continue to spread the word to vote No on the Rail this November 8th . Thank you to everyone who reached out for a sign. We are getting them out as soon as possible. If you would like one just message us your address and we will get one to you.

10/24/2022

This is going to be the sad truth for more and more elderly people who rent in New Bedford. If you don't believe us just do your research. Look at the number of outside developers purchasing houses and apartments in the city. They will raise the rates and force the elderly out of their homes with no place to go. This vote is being shoved down our throats without all the facts. This vote can take place next year it would just delay the service by a year. Vote No on Southcoast Rail this year and make the City Council and Mayor come back with a plan to make sure the elderly and other residents don't get priced out of their homes:

Joe Quigley, 72 and a resident of 189-193 Elm St., is one of a dozen tenants told after the apartment building he is living in was sold that he had to move out. He said he thinks developers are getting ready to welcome a wave of Bostonians. As he puts it, “It’s screwing the people. They should have told us.” Watch his reaction here.

Joe Quigley, 72 and a resident of 189-193 Elm St., is one of a dozen tenants told after the apartment building he is living in was sold that he had […]

10/20/2022

In August 2022 the DHCD issued new Compliance Guidelines on new Section 3A of MGL c. 40A. In the section it requires an MBTA community to have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right and meets other criteria set forth in the statute such as:
- Minimum gross density of 15 units per acre
- Located not more than 0.5 miles from a commuter rail station, subway station, ferry terminal or bus station, if applicable
- No age restrictions and suitable for families with children

Click link below for full explanation of the new directive. Vote No on Southcoast Rail on Tuesday, November 8, 2022

This page includes Compliance Guidelines on new Section 3A of MGL c. 40A and related materials.

10/17/2022

What does it mean to be a MBTA Community? Mayor John Mitchell stated that the city "could" be assessed a fee for the service however currently due to the assessment formula this would not take place in New Bedford. This formula could be changed at anytime. Do you think the MBTA service which is currently billions behind in deferred maintenance and millions behind in operating budget can afford not to charge for this service? The city could be paying for a service that residence from the entire Southcoast would be using. Why are the other Towns in the area not being required to pay for the service? Vote No on Southcoast Rail on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.

10/15/2022

Proponents of Southcoast Rail will tell you New Bedford will receive more tax revenue. What they will not tell you is that you the home owner or renter will pay for the majority of those increased revenues. As home and businesses are purchase at inflated prices your home and business will be reassessed and the value will raise more then the typical increase. Therefore the following year raising your property tax. If your a renter the home owner will pass on this cost to your rent every month/year. This will cause some elderly people or persons on a fixed income to sell their property because they can no longer afford the taxes. Vote No on Southcoast Rail on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Send us a message if you would like a lawn sign.

10/14/2022

Signs have come in and we got some out today. We will be doing a few more tomorrow. Let us know if you would like one.

10/08/2022

We just placed an order for lawn signs. Please message us your address if you would like one.

10/06/2022

There are zoning requirements that the city must follow in regards to allowing multi-family homes by right in the area surrounding the train station if we become a MBTA Community. This would change the neighborhoods in these areas. Please read the Multi-Family Zoning Requirement for MBTA Communities here

This page includes Compliance Guidelines on new Section 3A of MGL c. 40A and related materials.