Q&A: Who decides the location of Chapter 40B housing developments in Weston

Today I was asked by a resident about a couple of multi-unit housing developments that are reported to be under consideration within a half mile or so of where he lives Weston.  The resident asked if they can be located in other parts of Weston.  I told him that the Town of Weston has virtually no control over developers choosing to bring forward development plans under Massachusetts' Chapter 40B law.

Under that law, communities with less than 10% of the housing classified as affordable are subject to developers using this law to be exempt from certain zoning requirements as long as at least 25% of the units they build qualify as affordable. 

The town has no input into where these private developers choose to locate these developments, and has little or no say over the number of units. 

The only two multi-unit housing projects that town has been involved in locating are the Brook School apartments (which obviously was reusing an existing building) and Merriam Village.  The town is also in the process of redeveloping a property on Warren Avenue which includes three buildings that used to be part of the Water Department (and again, as a reuse of existing buildings, the location was already selected).

For more information about Chapter 40B, see this page on the Massachusetts website:  http://www.mass.gov/hed/community/40b-plan/