| Subject: Michael.. I agree on the 40B thing |
Author:
Shawn
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Date Posted: 05:15:57 05/02/04 Sun
In reply to:
Michael H.
's message, "Re: Dennis, What's the Scoop on this 40b Plan?" on 06:04:19 05/01/04 Sat
I understand the original need for 40B.. the anti-snob issue.
Many of the suburban and richer towns were redlining out anyone who was less affluent (be them a minority, poor, elderly, etc).
Passing a law to require a percentage of homes to be "affordable" was the result.
It's the definition of "affordable" that bothers me.
Why does a home have to be under the control of the state to be considered "affordable".
A lot of our homes in Dracut were built soon after world war II, by young men returning from war. Lots of salt-boxes and ranches line our streets.. and all of these homes are still "affordable" in a logical, but not legal sense.
There are towns that have large mobile home parks (Billerica and Chelmsford have a few that I know of). These homes are often "first" homes for young families these days.
Condominiums and "mother-in-law" apartments also seem to be reasonably priced and suitable for new home owners or elderly.
The idea that a home must be state "subsidized" to be considered "affordable" just seems wrong to me. This is a clear case of government taking on an issue that is beyond its scope.
I do believe that towns should be able to show statistics that show the range of home values within their town (based on home sales, not tax appraisals), and have a "master planning" committee that would work with developers to develop additional housing, and thus show that we are doing our job welcoming new people to our town.
I look at the hundreds of homes being built in my back yard on Marsh Hill and am depressed by the whole thing. Each home would be beautiful, if on a large lot of land. But as they are, they look like a bunch of half million dollar homes where everyone is looking into each other's living room and back yard. I would not be paying that much for a home, where I would actually feel like I was living in a condominium situation.
And I still feel a fear of focus on elderly (over-55) developments. A town thrives on new young families that grow up in it and make it feel like a home. Large elderly developments bring in a lot of people who have no connection to the town, little interest in the schools and services, yet tend to be very active in voting.
(on a side note, I was happy to get a letter recently from Senator Tucker in response to a question I had about a house of rep proposal to exempt seniors from paying for Prop 2-1/2 overrides. She indicated that she would oppose the change.. I applaud her for that).
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