Housing Headlines

FRAMINGHAM --- With last fall's downtown zoning changes in place, the town recently put together a tour for about 20 local real estate developers and showed them 20 underutilized parcels that could be transformed into mixed-use developments near the commuter rail.

BOSTON --- In his Sunday column, Globe Columnist Dante Ramos uses a 110-condo unit proposal on the Whiskey Priest property at 150 Seaport Boulevard to illustrate Boston's continuing reliance on a parcel-by-parcel approach where exceptions to existing zoning are the rule, and where the more predictable zoning that Mayor Walsh wants is still years away.

BURLINGTON --- The selectmen have voted unanimously to support a "friendly 40B" application by The Davis Companies, who have proposed to build no more than 271 multifamily units in the Center at Corporate Drive on Cambridge St. At the moment, approximately 10 percent of Burlington's housing is considered affordable and the addition of the Davis Companies' units would keep the town over 10 percent and give it greater control over future 40Bs for years to come.

CHARLESTOWN --- State Rep. Dan Ryan says he's still educating himself on whether adopting the Community Preservation Act is a good idea, saying he isn't convinced that voters are going to vote for something that means more taxes and that many of the activities CPA traditionally funds won't occur in his Charlestown district.

MELROSE --- Mayor Rob Dolan says Corcoran Company's proposal to build 259 units at Weiss Farm in Stoneham could have a negative impact on his city, voicing concerns about flooding that could occur if the so many buildings are constructed on what he called A water-filled property. (Melrose Free Press).

An editorial in Saturday's Boston Globe praises the Baker Administration's "humane" approach and a state program called HomeBASE for enabling the state to cut the number of homeless families living in motels from 1,500 to 538.