Housing Headlines

BRIDGEWATER --- A developer's plan to pursue a "friendly 40B" permit to replace a vacant downtown building with a new mixed-use building with 25 units and three commercial spaces has received a cold shoulder from town officials. Town councilors say they want to factor in the impacts before deciding whether to support developer Jim Paskell's application through the Local Initiative Program (LIP).

AMHERST --- Town Meeting next month may be asked to establish a new program that would offer tax credits to property owners who keep rents low enough to accommodate families with federal Section 8 vouchers.

STONEHAM --- An affordable housing legal specialist has advised the town to stop efforts to block an apartment complex on Weiss Farm until developer John M. Corcoran and Company has an opportunity to present its plans to build 300 units. Lawyer Jon Witten, hired by the town to represent it in negotiations, warned the town at a special forum that it not "prejudge anything just because of the nature of the (Ch. 40B) law. You have courts that will treat a community very poorly, if it prejudges an application before it gets across the threshold."

BRIDGEWATER --- The Bridgewater Town Council unanimously approved a set of zoning amendments aimed at jumpstarting downtown revitalization, the most significant a measure that will allow residences in the central business district around the town common.

EASTON --- Residents in the Williams St. neighborhood say while they are for affordable housing and have supported nearby efforts, they will continue to fight with a property owner who bought a single-family home in 2005, split it into a two-family rental , was denied from building another home on the property in 2006 and, since 2008, has been pursuing a Ch. 40B permit to build 28 units on the 2.5 acre lot.

WILLIAMSTOWN --- The town's Affordable Housing Committee will hold two public sessions in October to get input from the community on how to best develop two brownfield sites - the old town garage on Water St. and the Photech Mill on Cole Ave. Work to clean up both properties has been going on for years and the town has now reached the stage where it is seeking public input in order to put out a Request for Proposals to developers.