Housing Headlines

SALEM --- Salem's bid to put an accessory dwelling ordinance is still alive as the City Council voted 8-3 to keep the discussion alive, sending the law back to the Ordinance Committee for further review and a possible final vote at the Oct. 24 City Council meeting. A two-thirds majority is needed to pass the bylaw.

NORTH READING --- In case you missed it, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously in late August to invoke a "safe harbor" provision in the state's affordable housing law, claiming it can deny a Ch. 40B land use permit application because more than 1.5 percent of its land area is being used for affordable housing. The claim, if upheld by the state, would allow the town to reject NY Ventures' proposal to build 200 apartments at 20 Elm St.

MILFORD --- Led by Brother Steve Jubin of the Missionaries of Charity, Milford's charitable organizations are teaming up to open emergency shelters this winter, using three churches on a rotating basis that will combine to offer a place to sleep for 20 individuals on winter nights. Jubin, who has worked with the homeless in Milford's downtown for years, said the move is to provide a place to stay for people who live in tents and are exposed to the extreme cold.

BRAINTREE --- Having tried previously to develop a 3.37 acre site that once included a gas station and still has an historic home, local developer George Clements has taken the first steps toward applying to the town for a Ch. 40B comprehensive permit so he can build 96 mixed-income rental apartments. Neighbors have previously opposed proposals to build a Cumberland Farms gas station and store, and then 48 age-restricted condominiums.

BOSTON --- In contrast to most housing stories you read, residents at a public meeting expressed hopes that plans to redevelop a vacant lot in the Four Corners' section of Dorchester were finally getting under way after more than a decade of starts and stops. Those views were expressed at a meeting where Codman Square Executive Director Gail Latimore and her project manager, Megan Reagon, explained plans to build a three-story residential townhouse building and a four-story 32-unit apartment building on Bowdoin Street and Bowdoin Avenue.

BOSTON --- In a move explained as a response to neighborhood feedback, British student-housing developer Scape is expected to abandon plans to build private dorms in the Fenway and will instead file plans to build more than 1,300 apartments, including one building with 220 affordable units and part of another for families visiting nearby Children's Hospital.