Housing Headlines

GLOUCESTER --- Gloucester’s mayor and the head of the American Legion Post are asking that any permit allowing for the former Cameron House to be turned into a 30-unit affordable housing development include stipulations that 70 percent of the units be set aside for city residents or veterans.

HINGHAM --- Upscale Hingham is attracting significant interest from developers and renewed resident concerns about the impacts of new housing, namely Avalon Bay's hopes to build 190 apartments near its 235-unit 2008 project and Alliance Residential of Phoenix' interest in building apartments on the old Hingham Mutual Fire Insurance building site.

CHELMSFORD --- Attorney William Harvey's five-unit 40B now moves onto the zoning board of appeals selectmen gave their initial approval following some spirited debate about the size of the proposal during a recent selectmen's meeting.

TRURO --- A warrant for the April 26 town meeting will ask voters to authorize selectmen to buy four acres from the state Dept. of Transportation for affordable housing. The land is located at the intersection of Rt. 6 and Highland Road and the town would use it to construct at least 16 units of affordable housing.

CONCORD --- At the Trinity Episcopal Church's 12th annual forum on family homelessness, state Undersecretary for Housing Chrystal Kornegay discussed the lack of multifamily housing, saying that zoning regulations from town to town are hampering the production of multi-family housing. To emphasize her point, she noted that 207 of the state's 351communities haven't permitted any multifamily housing in the last 10 years.

\SOUTHBOROUGH — The Zoning Board of Appeals is sticking to its decision to grant two conservation waivers for the 180-unit Park Central Ch. 40B housing development on Rte. 9, despite hearing from the Conservation Commission about not being able to weigh in.