The volunteer effort to gather more than 66,000 signatures from around the state in support of the repeal of the 40B law is now over. The signatures are being certified in the towns and cities and will soon be submitted to the secretary of state. According to a Boston Globe article last Saturday, the effort was successful.
There are still more barriers, however, before the referendum question appears on the 2008 ballot. The certification process has to be completed; then the legislature has to pass the question. If they do not, an additional 11,000 signatures will have to be gathered by June 18. So, you may see us out there once again.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those citizens who stopped by to sign the petition at the transfer station or at Roche Bros. They joined thousands of others from around the commonwealth who want to see an end to this developer welfare program, which has not been successful in providing us with affordable housing. The 40B law has been in effect since 1969, but Massachusetts is ranked 49th among the states for our level of affordable housing. There are better ways to achieve our goals, and defeating this law will cause the legislature to finally start looking at proven options.
Wade Holtzman, Bolton Road
Anthony Marolda, Jacob Gates Road
