Several recent letters in the Press have claimed that the best way to handle Chapter 40B is to have legislators legislate the revisions. Chapter 40B is a deeply flawed law that enables developers to run roughshod over town governments and regulations in locales where affordable housing stock is not at least 10 percent of the total. It has proven very profitable for the builders of condos and maybe a few homes.
Ten percent affordable has become a never-reachable moving target, as we in Harvard can attest, because no builder ever builds a development consisting of all or mostly affordable units. So why not let the legislators fix 40B? Who says they will? Groups of citizens have tried over the years to encourage the legislature to improve 40B, but it has never happened. Better to tear up 40B and have the State House start from scratch, this time addressing concerns that go beyond those of residential property developers.
Ben Myers
Westcott Road
