Housing Headlines

AMHERST --- With affordability restrictions expiring and the new owners in the process of raising rents, some residents of Echo Village are continuing their fight to stay. Advocates for the tenants have appealed to U.S. Rep. James McGovern while some residents have taken their case to the regional housing court.

QUINCY --- The state has awarded two Quincy-based homeless shelter organizations thousands in federal funds to shelter and find permanent housing for the homeless but one of the recipients said that its public funding supports the sheltering of 133 people per night, whereas their shelters in Brockton and Quincy average 233 people per night.

BOSTON --- In a July 24 Boston Globe op-ed, Commonwealth Magazine's Paul McMorrow - a regular Globe contributor - says Mayor Tom Menino's goal of building 30,000 new housing units doesn't fit with the city's restrictive zoning.

ASHLAND --- Discussions have resumed on a plan that would have the town sell 13 acres of land to developers EA Fish and the Planning Office of Urban Affairs, who would then partner to develop 112 affordable homes in two phases, with the first phase calling for 64 homes for seniors.

HOPKINTON - The housing lottery for the 60 affordable one- and two-bedroom apartments at the 240-unit Legacy Farms has been cancelled because only two eligible applicants submitted applications. The 58 remaining units will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, said Brian Engler, vice president of SEB LLC, the company handling the lottery. Engler said a similar project in Concord, which had 88 affordable units, took a year to fill following the cancellation of a lottery.

NORTH ATTLEBORO --- A developer's proposal to build 45 affordable rental homes with a Ch. 40B permit has had the unintended consequence of alerting residents to zoning changes the town made two years ago so that 274 lots would not have zoning boundaries running through them. Residents say they were not informed when lots were reclassified as commerical or residential but the town insists adequate notice was given via public meetings, forums and mailings to residents.