CommunityScale

Win for affordable housing in court supported by our analysis

October 11, 2023

SOLUTIONS

CommunityScale’s Nels Nelson and Sarabrent McCoy supported the proponent of an affordable housing development in North Reading, Massachusetts, before the state’s Housing Appeals Committee, which ruled in the developer’s favor. The team’s expert testimony was found accurate by the court, clearing the way for the project to proceed under the Massachusetts 40B program. The analysis turned on interpreting the state’s General Land Area Minimum guidelines to determine whether 1.5% of the community’s developable land is tied to subsidized affordable housing, the 1.5% Safe Harbor test. It adds to a record of successful analyses in Braintree, Weston, and Medford.

While at Stantec, Nels Nelson and Sarabrent McCoy supported the proponent of affordable housing development in North Reading, Massachusetts. The case was in front of the State’s Housing Appeals Court, which recently decided in favor of the developer.

Our team’s expert testimony was found by the court to be accurate, thereby allowing the developer to proceed with affordable housing development under the Massachusetts 40B program. Our team has several successful analyses, including in Braintree, Weston, Medford, and now North Reading.

The detailed analysis includes interpreting the State’s General Land Area Minimum (GLAM) guidelines to determine if 1.5% of the community’s developable land area is associated with subsidized affordable housing, also known as 1.5% Safe Harbor.