Bill > H1128

This bill modifies how the town of West Boylston's affordable housing is counted towards a state-mandated threshold, specifically concerning Chapter 40B of Massachusetts General Laws, which allows developers to bypass local zoning if a town doesn't have enough affordable housing. The bill clarifies that for the purpose of determining if West Boylston has enough affordable housing, as tracked on the Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, certain types of affordable housing will be included. These include affordable units approved under local zoning laws (like those in a Local Initiative Program project) that have a permanent deed restriction for "Income Eligible Households" (meaning households meeting specific income limits defined by the Department), as well as affordable units in homeownership or rental projects approved under Chapter 40B or Chapter 40R. Importantly, if an approval for such housing is appealed, the units will remain on the SHI until the approval is definitively overturned by a court. This bill applies to housing units approved and filed with the town clerk on or before January 1, 2000.