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Rural Low-Income Housing And Massachusetts Chapter 40b: A Perspective From The Zoning Board Of Appeals, Eric J. Gouvin

Faculty Scholarship

The Massachusetts Low and Moderate Income Housing Act ("Act") was enacted in 1969 to promote the construction of lowincome housing in restrictively zoned Massachusetts communities. It seeks to achieve its goal by providing a builder's remedy which, in effect, overrides local zoning ordinances. The local Zoning Board of Appeals ("ZBA"), in deciding whether to issue a Comprehensive Permit under the Act, must evaluate the local and regional need for low-to moderate-income housing and weigh that need against local concerns over health, safety, design, and open space conservation. This Article examines the difficulty of applying the Act in rural towns. First, …