Plan for 25 houses filed under affordable housing law
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The state’s affordable housing law, which has prompted calls for relief from local officials across the state, has found its way into the watershed. On Dec. 31, the town received an application from EFC Construction, of Pawtucket, to build 25 single-family Colonial-style houses on a 25-acre lot off Carpenter Road. If the EFC does not run into any hurdles, the construction would start sometime this year. The developer is taking advantage of the Low and Moderate Income Housing Law, which was revised in the waning hours of the General Assembly’s 2002 session. The law allows for-profit developers to get fast-track approval on low-income housing units in towns where less than 10 percent of the housing is classified as affordable. In Scituate, less than 3 percent of the homes fit the bill, according to Town Engineer David Provonsil. The plan says that 5 of the 25 three-bedroom houses would fit affordability standards. The revised law allows EFC to sidestep the town’s normal zoning requirement in the Carpenter Street area. This allows them to put up houses on one-acre lots rather than the three-acre lots normally required in the proposed location. More : projo.com |