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Summary of Question 2
This proposed law would repeal an existing state law that allows a qualified organization wishing to build government-subsidized housing that includes low- or moderate-income units to apply for a single comprehensive permit from a city or town's zoning board of appeals (ZBA), instead of separate permits from each local agency or official having jurisdiction over any aspect of the proposed housing. The repeal would take effect on January 1, 2011, but would not stop or otherwise affect any proposed housing that had already received both a comprehensive permit and a building permit for at least one unit. 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). After a hearing, if the HAC rules that the ZBA's denial of a comprehensive permit was unreasonable and not consistent with local needs, the HAC orders the ZBA to issue the permit. If the HAC rules that the ZBA's decision issuing a comprehensive permit with conditions or requirements made the housing uneconomic to build or operate and was not consistent with local needs, the HAC orders the ZBA to modify or remove any such condition or requirement so as to make the proposal no longer uneconomic. The HAC cannot order the ZBA to issue any permit that would allow the housing to fall below minimum safety standards or site plan requirements. If the HAC rules that the ZBA's action was consistent with local needs, the HAC must uphold it even if it made the housing uneconomic. The HAC's decision is subject to review in the courts. A condition or requirement makes housing "uneconomic" if it would prevent a public agency or non-profit organization from building or operating the housing except at a financial loss, or it would prevent a limited dividend organization from building or operating the housing without a reasonable return on its investment. 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. Requirements are also considered "consistent with local needs" if the application would result, in any one calendar year, in beginning construction of low- or moderate-income housing on sites making up more than 0.3% of the total private land zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial use in the city or town, or on ten acres, whichever is larger. The proposed law states that if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect.

2010 - Middlesex County - Question 2Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 4, 2010?

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Middlesex County Results
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City/Town Ward Pct Blanks Total Votes Cast
Totals
220,402
301,505
36,067 557,974
Acton More »
 
4,247
4,501
550
9,298
Arlington More »
 
6,871
12,073
1,487
20,431
Ashby
 
605
752
67
1,424
Ashland More »
 
2,713
3,462
379
6,554
Ayer More »
 
1,061
1,386
130
2,577
Bedford More »
 
2,515
3,073
327
5,915
Belmont More »
 
4,375
6,087
722
11,184
Billerica More »
 
8,231
6,324
519
15,074
Boxborough
 
1,179
1,003
125
2,307
Burlington More »
 
4,468
4,475
532
9,475
Cambridge More »
 
6,427
24,970
2,843
34,240
Carlisle
 
1,503
1,071
122
2,696
Chelmsford More »
 
8,705
5,773
731
15,209
Concord More »
 
3,124
5,062
579
8,765
Dracut More »
 
5,496
5,174
506
11,176
Dunstable
 
786
570
76
1,432
Everett More »
 
3,323
4,896
885
9,104
Framingham More »
 
8,253
10,774
1,122
20,149
Groton More »
 
2,542
2,084
250
4,876
Holliston More »
 
2,936
3,344
362
6,642
Hopkinton More »
 
2,855
3,230
373
6,458
Hudson More »
 
3,085
4,149
425
7,659
Lexington More »
 
4,245
9,352
906
14,503
Lincoln More »
 
934
1,722
209
2,865
Littleton More »
 
1,899
2,083
235
4,217
Lowell More »
 
9,007
11,710
1,803
22,520
Malden More »
 
5,199
8,467
1,142
14,808
Marlborough More »
 
5,004
6,680
736
12,420
Maynard More »
 
1,754
2,535
252
4,541
Medford More »
 
6,844
11,900
1,342
20,086
Melrose More »
 
4,475
6,975
961
12,411
Natick More »
 
5,280
7,738
992
14,010
Newton More »
 
9,908
22,655
2,910
35,473
N. Reading More »
 
3,374
2,935
341
6,650
Pepperell More »
 
2,684
1,966
210
4,860
Reading More »
 
5,159
5,284
603
11,046
Sherborn
 
1,096
1,077
119
2,292
Shirley
 
1,085
1,180
173
2,438
Somerville More »
 
5,341
15,805
1,865
23,011
Stoneham More »
 
4,506
4,312
567
9,385
Stow
 
1,605
1,615
165
3,385
Sudbury More »
 
4,073
3,853
402
8,328
Tewksbury More »
 
6,004
5,102
554
11,660
Townsend More »
 
1,879
1,587
136
3,602
Tyngsborough More »
 
2,250
2,202
239
4,691
Wakefield More »
 
5,194
5,502
667
11,363
Waltham More »
 
7,276
9,080
1,186
17,542
Watertown More »
 
3,613
7,565
841
12,019
Wayland More »
 
2,372
3,564
448
6,384
Westford More »
 
4,809
4,523
440
9,772
Weston More »
 
2,057
2,876
315
5,248
Wilmington More »
 
4,617
4,108
586
9,311
Winchester More »
 
4,073
5,412
642
10,127
Woburn More »
 
7,486
5,907
968
14,361
County Totals
220,402
301,505
36,067 557,974