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State housing appeals board cannot order town to convey easements for the creation of affordable housing.(Recent Court Decisions)(Zoning Board of Appeals of Groton v. Housing Appeals Committee Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts)
When a town denied a permit to build affordable housing because of valid safety concerns, the state housing appeals committee could not require the town to eliminate the safety hazards by granting easements to use town property, according to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
In 2004, Washington Green Development, LLC (Washington) applied for a permit to build an affordable housing complex in the town of Groton. The development plans included the construction of several buildings along a single access road that would intersect with a busy highway. The zoning appeals board denied the permit, citing two primary safety concerns: first, that the road provided insufficient access to the complex; second, that vehicles on the highway would have inadequate sight distance to stop for obstacles at the intersection. Washington appealed to the state housing appeals committee, which reviews the denial of applications to build affordable housing and has the same power to issue permits "as any local board or official who would otherwise act with respect to such application," including the power to override local regulations. Recognizing the safety issues to be valid, the committee first found that the access problem could be remedied by an easement to use a road on adjacent property owned by the town. The committee also found that the stopping sight hazard could be eliminated by a second easement to clear vegetation on another portion of the town's property. The committee ordered the town to grant both easements and the building permit to Washington, asserting that it had the power to remove any municipally-created barriers to the construction of affordable housing. The trial court dismissed the town's challenges to the orders, and the town appealed.
On appeal, the state supreme court held ...
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Source: HighBeam Research, State housing appeals board cannot order town to convey easements for...