Housing Headlines

AYER --- After having rejected the initiative to incorporate Devens as a town, voters narrowly passed the proposal in a non-binding referendum taken at the polls on Tuesday. Supporters hope these results will sway legislators to revisit the issue.

CHELMSFORD --- Selectmen decided to postpone their decision on a proposed 40B after the developer angered town members by increasing the density of his plans.

HOPEDALE --- Selectmen were unimpressed by a developer's smart growth presentation for the rehab of a 1-million square-foot mill, worried that density would be too high.

LITTLETON --- The Housing Authority has requested that selectmen support a proposal to build 30 to 40 affordable housing units on town-owned land, with 75 percent of the units designated for senior housing. The final decision will be made at an upcoming town meeting.

BOSTON --- After a recount of Boston's population resulted in a 6.7 percent increase, a Boston Globe editorial challenges local and state authorities to be more careful when estimating their numbers.

BOSTON --- Real estate developers and researchers point to restrictive zoning regulations as being the root of the affordable housing shortage in Massachusetts. While the state and many local communities have begun to implement programs to ameliorate the shortage, much more must be done in order to reverse the trend of high cost housing.