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 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)