Local News
On Tuesday, Marblehead became the most recent Massachusetts community to thrust back against a state law requiring zoning changes to make it easier to construct multifamily housing.
The Marblehead Town Meeting rejected a proposal that may have brought the town into compliance with state law. This proposal, referred to as Article 36received 377 yes votes and 410 no votes Marblehead Stream.
Town presenter Jack Attridge reportedly doubted this could be the ultimate word on the matter.
“I’m sure we’ll be back before the end of the year,” he said, in keeping with Current.
The focus of the vote is compliance with the MBTA Community Act, which got here into force in 2021. It requires “MBTA communities” to permit the development of multifamily housing resembling apartments and condos near T stops without special permits. There are 177 communities in eastern Massachusetts which can be subject to the law, because it applies to each communities that directly provide MBTA service and people which can be adjoining to a city or town with MBTA service.
More than 100 of those communities have until the tip of 2024 to adopt latest zoning rules, and plenty of others have already approved such plans. But in some places, residents are resisting what they see as government overreach.
The most outstanding conflict occurred in Milton, where 54% of voters selected to reject changes to the charter that may have forced town to comply. Attorney General Andrea Campbell threatened legal motion against town before the vote and took motion shortly thereafter. Her office is now suing Milton with the support of Gov. Maura Healey.
State leaders have emphasized that compliance is mandatory and that the law is a vital option to address Massachusetts' housing affordability crisis. Municipalities that don’t comply also risk losing hundreds of thousands in state subsidies.
Residents of other cities like Marshfield, Rockport and Littleton are resist it also state officials.
The topic is controversial in lots of places. During Marblehead's town meeting, a resident threw a microphone and voting machine onto the stage in frustration before storming out. Another resident requested a reconsideration of the article after it had already been rejected and plenty of opponents had left, prompting some in attendance to repeatedly shout “sham,” the Current reported.
If Article 36 passes, 58.4 acres in three counties in Marblehead can be affected. Zoning for nearly 900 multi-family residential units has been proposed. In a presentation, city officials emphasized that the zoning changes were simply intended to permit for more housing; the law doesn’t require anything to truly be built.
The proposal, if adopted, likely would have had minimal impact on Marblehead while keeping the community out of a costly dispute with the state, officials said of their presentation. Now town must either develop and pass a brand new proposal by the tip of the yr or risk being sued like Milton and losing state funding.
Opponents of Article 36 argued that its passage would deprive town of its “right to shape its own community character.” They argued that the extra housing proposed by the proposal would potentially result in more traffic congestion, reduce property values and place an extra burden on schools and emergency services.
Almost 400 people have signed a petition against the changes. According to Current, when Article 36 was rejected, many participants burst into applause.
For others, like Salem attorney and city planner Jonathan Berk, the vote was a mistake.
“The Marblehead Town Council voted not to do even the bare minimum,” he said on social media post after the vote. “Marblehead voted tonight out of fear of change, accepting the scaremongering and lies of a few in a world where the currency is increasingly becoming an increasingly dangerous currency.”
image credit : www.boston.com