Bill > S113

This bill amends Chapter 40B of the Massachusetts General Laws, which governs the creation of affordable housing projects, by adding a new provision that requires any application to build low or moderate-income housing within an historic district to first obtain a "certificate of appropriateness" from the local historic commission, a document confirming the project's design is suitable for the historic area. This process will now involve the historic commission holding its hearing at the same time as the local zoning board, and any conditions set by the historic commission will be incorporated into the building permit, with these conditions being exempt from appeal to the housing appeals committee as "uneconomic" (meaning they cannot be argued as too costly to implement). Importantly, the bill clarifies that an application for such housing cannot be rejected solely because it is located within an historic district.