Housing Headlines

ARLINGTON --- With only 5.64 percent of its housing considered affordable and faced with a 219-unit Ch. 40B proposal it doesn't want, the Town of Arlington has hired a law firm to explore whether the town can block the project by determining if it meets the requirement of having affordable housing on 1.5 percent of its buildable land.

MEDWAY --- Selectmen have voted to send a 10-page letter to the state voicing its concerns over a developer's proposal to build 76 homes and 116 condos on land owned by former resident Henry Wickett. Prior to the development proposal by Timber Crest LLC, Wickett had offered the land to the town several times but the town never moved forward on the deal, citing wetland concerns.

IPSWICH --- With rents in town averaging $1,500 a month for a two-bedroom, Ipswich Housing Coordinator Terry Anderson agrees there's a crisis in terms of affordability while a local realtor says short supply in the rental market is being further exacerbated by prospective buyers who can't find a home and are still renting.

EASTON --- Despite having local funding tools like the Community Preservation Act and a local housing trust in place, Easton officials are still worried about the town's ability to provide affordable housing for families making around $50,000 per year.

HOLBROOK --- Despite being one of about 50 communities in the state to have more than 10 percent of its housing considered affordable by the state, the Holbrook Housing Authority reports long waiting lists for senior, disabled and family housing.

In a regional report for Gatehouse newspapers, reporter Gerry Tuoti finds that the debate over the value of the Ch. 40B housing law is one of control, with housing advocates saying it's a useful tool in getting communities to participate in addressing housing issues while municipal representatives say the law takes too much control away from communities.