A NO vote keeps the status quo on the 40B statute.
Here's essentially how 40 B works:
Under the existing law, the ZBA holds a public hearing on the application and considers the recommendations of local agencies and officials. The ZBA may grant a comprehensive permit that may include conditions or requirements concerning the height, site plan, size, shape, or building materials of the housing. Persons aggrieved by the ZBA’s decision to grant a permit may appeal it to a court. If the ZBA denies the permit or grants it with conditions or requirements that make the housing uneconomic to build or to operate, the applicant may appeal to the state Housing Appeals Committee (HAC).
A ZBA’s decision is “consistent with local needs” if it applies requirements that are reasonable in view of the regional need for low- and moderate-income housing and the number of low-income persons in the city or town, as well as the need to protect health and safety, promote better site and building design, and preserve open space, if those requirements are applied as equally as possible to both subsidized and unsubsidized housing. Requirements are considered “consistent with local needs” if more than 10% of the city or town’s housing units are low- or moderate-income units or if such units are on sites making up at least 1.5% of the total private land zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial use in the city or town.
People in favor of repealing 40B may have some legitimate complaints. They claim there is corruption. This may be true. Wherever you have town and city government, bids and construction - there is room for cronyism, corruption and pig fests. But most of the time, the real objections of the people are about aesthetics and taxes.
Affordable housing projects bring families into town whose children will need to go to our schools. The families may need services that deal with the consequences of poverty. It may decrease our property values and increase our taxes. It may affect traffic patterns or impact our routines in other ways.
But, it gives numerous families clean, decent housing in towns where their children have access to decent school systems - away from crime and violence in a ghetto.
This is where the rubber meets the road in social justice.
