Blog
Using the courts to stall growth
Regular Boston Globe op-ed page contributor Paul McMorrow points out another example of how the courts are used to stall development when he writes about the Town of Holliston's three legal challenges to a development proposal to build 200 mixed-income condominiums. Holliston has lost all three but has managed to stop a development that first came before the town seven years ago.What irks McMorrow the most is that in many respects the development should be a no-brainer:
It’s the sort of development project that should appeal to a wide range of constituencies. It would bring some density to the western suburbs, where large-lot zoning has long been used to constrain growth. It would put a polluted former dumping ground back into productive use. And it would add 50 moderately-priced units to a town where just over 3 percent of the housing stock is affordable.
The Town of Holliston has challenged the development by trying to enforce its own wetland bylaws, which are stricter than the state's, and by challenging the developer's plans to finish the cleanup effort, which the town says is vague.