Housing Headlines

NEEDHAM --- Frustrated by the town's lack of regulations on the tearing down of homes to build larger ones, the Restore Needham residents group presented the Board of Selectmen with a petition outlining five regulations relating to the height of houses.

BOSTON --- Peregrine Urban Initiative's plans to build 64 units in the Ashmont section of Dorchester illustrates the difficulty developers have in building apartments that middle-income households can afford.

BELMONT --- Several Belmont officials have come out against a comprehensive zoning reform bill that would allow denser development by right, saying it would burden municipal finances and encourage large developments that are out of character with the community. State Sen. Will Brownsberger supports the measure as a response to the need for more housing near jobs but one Belmont official was dubious. “The scare of a housing crisis is a very overdrawn, exaggerated and unreasonable in many respects,” said Warrant Committee member Roy Epstein, who holds a doctorate in economics from Yale. “Look at the state as a whole. I don’t think there is a housing crisis in Fitchburg or Leominster, or in other towns outside (greater) Boston.”

GLOUCESTER --- The Zoning Board of Appeals has voted to grant North Shore Community Development Coalition and Action Inc. a Ch. 40B permit so it can co--develop the former Cameron's Restaurant site on Main St. into 30 multifamily rental housing units and 700 square feet of commercial space.

SANDWICH --- Town and state officials celebrated the $1 million renovation of 12 public housing units at George Fernandes Way on July 21. Funding was provided by the state's High Leverage Asset Preservation Program and the Town of Sandwich via Community Preservation Act funds. “This is a product of a strong partnership between a community, a housing authority and the state,” said Sarah Glassman, associate director of public housing at the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

BEVERLY --- Third-term Beverly City Councilor Jason Silva pens a heartfelt and personal recollection of how having an affordable place to live helped his mother raise five children and how it gave him exposure to good role models which led to college and a career in public service.