Housing Headlines

NORWELL --- A neighborhood association is threatening to sue the town if it does not act on a spring Town Meeting vote which made it possible for the select board to put two parcels of land into conservation. The land was taken by the town for non-payment of taxes and designated for affordable housing in 2004 but residents petitioned to have the town make the site conservation land to head off an affordable housing development. The petition gives the select board the option to reclassify the land, but does not require the board to do it.

NEWTON --- Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller has announced that the city has reached an agreement to pay $2.45 million to turn part of a religions conference center in Auburndale into affordable housing. The proposed housing would be next to an elementary school and three forms of mass transit. The purchase would be funded from Newton’s allocation of pandemic relief money provided through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, said Fuller.

NEWTON --- Newton-Wellesley Hospital has awarded a $1.9 million grant to WATCH Community Development and MetroWest Collaborative Development to address housing insecurity of low-income tenants, particularly in Natick, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Wellesley, and Weston.. The four-year grant will be used for rental assistance, case management at their housing clinics and to raise awareness about the mental health needs of those needing housing assistance.

TRURO --- A land court this week required that a group of Truro abutters appealing the town's approval of Ch. 40B permit post a $25,000 bond, which could be used to cover costs if the court finds that the town or the public interest is harmed by the delay in the proposed 39-unit mixed-income project. The order stems from abutter appeal reform that was included in the Housing Choice legislation that was passed late in 2020. The reform gives judges the option to require a party to post up to a $50,000 bond when appealing a decision to approve a special permit, variance or site plan for housing. The Truro decision is one of the first times a court has used this option.

NEWTON --- The Boston Globe's Marcela García reports that a last-minute campaign to make the public aware of a city council candidate's past support for Trump proved to involve a made-up local pro-Trump political group, a veteran city councilor distributing flyers and concerns that if the targeted candidate won (he didn't), it would tip the city council's membership toward supporting affordable housing.

MALDEN --- Responding to a growing outcry about rising rents, the Malden City Council unanimously approved an inclusionary zoning ordinance requiring that new developments of eight units or more set aside at least 15 percent of the units as affordable to renters making 50 percent of area median income (AMI). The ordinance also requires that homeownership developments of eight units or more set aside 15 percent to households making up to 80 percent of AMI.