Bonnie Heudorfer’s recent article on the 1.5 percent general land-area-minimum rule from the Chapter 40B law is disturbing from many aspects. She is a paid expert on the Chapter 40B law, yet she made statements that appear to contradict the wording of the law and the findings of the Housing Appeals Committee (HAC), which has the responsibility for interpreting the law.
Her key point was that there was confusion and misinformation in town about the 1.5 percent calculation. In discussing what should be included in the amount of land from a 40B site, she said that “only the impervious area and landscaped area of such sites is included in the calculation.” The implication is that only a small fraction of the entire site would be counted. This statement is not in agreement with the wording of the 40B law nor the rulings (of which I am aware) of the HAC.
The HAC ruled on the case of Arbor Hill Holdings vs. Weymouth Board of Appeals. They said, “The general land area minimum section of the statute (Chapter 40B, Section 20) simply refers to ‘low and moderate income housing … on sites …’ The implication of this simple language, however, is that sites are to be counted in the most natural, straightforward way, that is, that the entire site should be counted.”
The HAC went on to credit Weymouth with 100 percent of the land in 18 rental development sites (all units of which count as affordable), and 25 percent of the land area of the homeownership developments, which count only the actual affordable units.
Unless Ms. Heudorfer is aware of an HAC ruling that counters its findings in the Weymouth case, then her statements appear to be incorrect. Harvard is not, as Ms. Heudorfer said, trying to circumvent the 40B law by making an effort to do this calculation. Our zoning laws are being circumvented by the developers who take advantage of 40B. We need to make sure that we understand where we stand relative to the law so we can plan appropriately and protect ourselves from this destructive legislation..
Anthony Marolda
Jacobs Gate Road
