The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in June that affordable housing development can’t be stopped on the grounds it might hurt neighbors’ property values. The case involved a suburb where a developer planned an apartment building. Because the town didn’t have enough low-income housing, the state “anti-snob” law allowed the developer to ignore the town’s zoning rules if he made a quarter of the units affordable. Then residents of a nearby single-family neighborhood argued their home values would be put at risk; the court said this argument would “frustrate” the intent of the law. (Boston Globe, 6/20)
#147 Fall 2006
NIMBYites Lose One
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in June that affordable housing development can’t be stopped on the grounds it might hurt neighbors’ property values. The case involved a suburb where […]
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