Housing Headlines

MARSHFIELD --- After not seeing Ch. 40B proposals for a few years, the town is now reviewing two proposals - a 40-unit proposal of duplexes and single-family homes, and a 270-unit rental project, which if approved would put the town over 10 percent and give it safe harbor from future 40Bs.

PEMBROKE --- A developer's plan to build 68 condominiums with a Ch. 40B permit has caught the attention of the town as 50 residents showed up at a selectmen's meeting to oppose the project and the selectmen voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling for a one-year moratorium on all multifamily projects.Developer Brian Murphy has proposed to build the development on a 50-acre site, of which about 30 acres are considered wetlands.

REVERE --- In response to one 78-unit proposal in the city's Riverside section, the City Council voted 10-1 on a resolution that the city will stop developing housing under the state law known as Chapter 40B. In the resolution, the city declares it should have safe harbor from the law because 1.5 percent of its land is devoted to eligible affordable housing.

LEOMINSTER --- Plans to turn the former Carter Mill into 37 apartments took another step forward as the City Council voted to grant developers David Keiselbach and Dan Botwinik of Sterling Holdings, LLC a tax break. The vote was necessary in the developers' application for a state Housing Development Incentive Program grant, which would include the local tax break estimated at $335,000.

WALTHAM --- After two years in the making, an affordable housing rental voucher program backed by $2.1 million in CPA funds is available to residents. Proposed by the nonprofit WATCH and the Waltham Housing Authority, the program will provide residents with temporary housing relief for three years. Eligible applicants must be Waltham families and individuals with income less than 50 percent of the area median income, which is $34,350 for one person, $39,250 for two people, $44,150 for three people, $49,050 for four people, and $53,000 for five people.

NEW BEDFORD --- After the discovery of a homeless camp while responding to a tire fire, police told inhabitants they have 24-48 hours to pack up their things and vacate the premises, which is a private property.