Don Pinto Quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly: Regional Commission Deemed ‘Local Board' Under 40B

Excerpted from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

The Housing Appeals Commission (HAC) has ruled that Martha’s Vineyard Commission qualifies as a "local board" subject to the procedural requirements of Chapter 40B, Massachusetts' affordable housing statute. The decision arose from a proposed 60-unit affordable housing development in Edgartown, where the local zoning board referred the project to the Commission rather than opening a public hearing within the statute's required 30-day timeframe.

HAC found that because the Commission exercises local permitting authority, it is subject to Chapter 40B's deadlines. As a result, the zoning board's failure to timely open a hearing led to a constructive approval of the comprehensive permit application. The Commission had later denied the project as a Development of Regional Impact.

The ruling is significant for affordable housing development on Martha's Vineyard and potentially throughout the Commonwealth. Commenting on the decision, Pierce Atwood land use litigation attorney Donald R. Pinto Jr. noted that a contrary outcome would allow any Chapter 40B project to be delayed indefinitely and possibly derailed, adding, “that would defeat the core purpose of Chapter 40B to aggregate all local permitting under the authority of the zoning board so the developer only has to obtain one comprehensive permit.”  

Click here for the complete article by Eric T. Berkman