Chapter 40B Under Attack

The Newburyport Daily News reported that in addition to Topsfield and Hamilton, Salisbury and several other Cape Ann cities and towns are joining in the fight against Chapter 40B, the state’s “anti-snob” zoning law that requires communities to have at least 10% of their housing stock at affordable prices, and allows developers to bypass local building restrictions if the project includes 20-25% affordable units in those communities that don’t meet the threshold.

According to the article, Salisbury Town Manager Neil Harrington, Selectman Jerry Klima and about 50 other officials from across the state attended a recent seminar organized by the Municipal Coalition for Affordable Housing, whose mission is to put towns and cities in control of how affordable housing is developed in their communities, instead of following the Commonwealth’s Chapter 40B housing law.

Also, separately there is a group called The Coalition for the Repeal of 40B, which is trying to collect about 66,000 signatures to get a repeal proposal on next year’s statewide ballot. Salisbury officials don’t want to go that far. The Coalition for the Repeal of 40B is reportedly about halfway to its goal.

Read the entire Newburyport Daily News article