Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Developer withdraws request to shorten affordable restriction for 1223 Washington St. comprehensive permit
Summary
The applicant for a comprehensive-permit modification at 1223 Washington Street asked to withdraw a request to change two restricted units from "in perpetuity" to a 30-year affordability term; the board accepted the withdrawal without prejudice after discussion and a planning-department memo recommending denial.
The Norwood Zoning Board of Appeals on Oct. 7 accepted a request to withdraw without prejudice a proposed modification to the comprehensive permit (40B, case 24-06) for 1223 Washington Street that would have changed two deed restrictions on affordable units from perpetual to 30 years.
Attorney David Hearn Jr., representing the permit holder, said the board's original decision (filed April 2024) included language in the findings that the two restricted units would remain affordable "in perpetuity." Hearn said his client, the current owner, did not agree at hearing that a perpetual term was required and that the owner is asking the ZBA to modify finding number 6 to limit the affordability term to 30 years; he noted 760 CMR 56 and related Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) guidance do not categorically require perpetuity and that EOHLC staff had indicated a shorter term could be considered.
Planning staff and the director of community development submitted a memo recommending denial of the modification. The staff memo cited EOHLC guidance and the town's past practice of requiring affordability terms of the longest period permitted and noted that the town and commonwealth generally favor perpetual restrictions for comprehensive-permit projects. The board discussed the differences between large-scale projects that can absorb long-term affordability obligations and a small, eight-unit project, where two restricted units may have a larger per-unit financial impact.
Before the board took a final vote, the applicant requested a withdrawal without prejudice rather than risk a denial on the record; the board accepted that request. Earlier in the proceeding the board also voted to waive a $3,000 filing fee for the modification request and instead assessed the $350 special-permit fee; the waiver passed with one abstention recorded.
Key factual points in the record: the project is an eight-unit, two-story residential building under construction with two deed-restricted units proposed at 80% of area median income; the original comprehensive-permit decision is dated April 8, 2024; the applicant said construction is underway and expressed concern about financing and long-term economic impacts of a perpetual restriction. The withdrawal leaves the original decision in place; the town may rely on the current perpetual restrictions unless a future modification or appeal is filed.
