Attorney General Andrea Campbell filed suit on Tuesday, asking the court to order that Milton has to comply with a sweeping state law requiring that communities within a certain distance of public transit rezone to allow for minimum amounts of multifamily construction as-of-right.
Housing
Posted inOpinion
Public flogging of Milton is unnecessary
Balance is struck when we pass laws that are punitive (or expensive) towards undesirable behavior. From laws restricting pollution, to taxes on tobacco, we guide society in the direction we desire. Society becomes off kilter when the restrictions become too onerous and begin to impede the rights we possess.
Posted inOpinion
Should we repeal the state’s right-to-shelter guarantee?
Massachusetts is the only state with a right-to-shelter law, a distinction that is drawing criticism and praise as the state grapples with a surge of homeless migrants arriving here.
Posted inTransportation
Here is why state feels Milton is a rapid transit community
The Guidelines do not – and cannot – take into consideration the quality of the service or the type of equipment used on any given line.
Posted inHousing
Milton Planning Board deciphers vote against zoning plan
“We shouldn’t assume we know why people voted no. And we shouldn’t assume we know why people voted yes,” said board member Cheryl Tougias. “We shouldn’t assume everyone supports reclassification.”
Posted inOpinion
Is ‘paper compliance’ with the MBTA Communities law good enough?
It doesn’t add any new homes for young adults or new families, or add diversity. It doesn’t create new opportunities for downsizing seniors. It doesn’t add the homes our local employers need to attract and retain workers. But it passes the compliance test.
Posted inHousing
Milton thumbs its nose at MBTA zoning law
According to unofficial results posted by the town clerk shortly after 10 p.m., the vote was 5,115 to 4,356 – or 54-46 percent — to reject the zoning plan.
Posted inHousing
Is a motel room affordable housing? This city is arguing yes.
In a case that shows the lengths communities will go to stop a housing project from getting built, Methuen officials are trying to leverage the state’s use of a Days Inn motel as an emergency shelter for homeless families to block a development proposal to build 300 units of rental housing on parcel straddling its border with Dracut.
Posted inHousing
Boston development retool looms with planning shuffle ordinance
Gears are in motion for one of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s showpiece campaign promises – with a new ordinance filed that would move BPDA operations largely into a city planning department.
Posted inEnergy
Utilities dig into geothermal systems in race to decarbonize
THE GROUND BENEATH Massachusetts is key to a relatively new strategy to decarbonize the state’s building stock within the next decade. Deep beneath Framingham, Lowell, and Boston, pipes will exchange heat between homes and commercial buildings with the rock below, creating geothermal heating and cooling systems aimed at saving residents money while phasing out dependence […]