Massachusetts Faces Affordable Housing Battle

"Suburban legislators, many of them powerful committee chairmen, have launched an unexpected revolt against House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran's carefully crafted affordable housing package. The lawmakers say they won't approve the package unless the House agrees to significant changes to the state's landmark 1969 antisnob zoning law, known as Chapter 40B, which gives developers broad rights to build affordable housing in communities where it is scarce. Town officials and constituents, especially those who live along the fast-growing Interstate 495 belt, are pressuring the Legislature to scale back the law and exempt more communities from its requirements. The battle is taking place as Massachusetts confronts the tightest housing market since the 1980s, with intense demand despite a cooling economy and prices surging statewide."

Thanks to Christian Peralta