To the editor:
Nov. 2 will be an important election day. There are many highly contested races, and some important referendum questions.
A "yes" on Question 2 will repeal Chapter 40B, the "affordable housing law."
This ill-conceived, egregious law needs to be repealed and replaced with other, more effective approaches to building affordable housing stock.
The problems with Chapter 40B are well known and well documented. First, this 41-year-old law hasn't achieved its objectives.
Massachusetts is 49th in the nation in terms of affordable housing availability, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Many developers have made unconscionable, illegal profits from these projects, as documented by the state's inspector general. They have done this after having trashed the zoning regulations of their host towns.
Just look at the proposed Brierneck Crossing project, planned to be sited on a filled, one-acre lot on the corner of the salt marsh across from Good Harbor Beach. The development is proposed to be 12 units, only four of which will meet the state's definition of "affordable."
Almost everyone in the city agrees that the site is not at all suitable for such a project.
Proponents say, "Without 40B, there would be no affordable housing." Well, the number of affordable units built without 40B belies that statement.
State housing reports indicate that less than 20 percent of the subsidized housing in Massachusetts resulted from 40B projects. Gloucester has numerous examples of affordable housing units built without resorting to Chapter 40B.
It is time to repeal Chapter 40B.
I urge voters to get out on Nov. 2 and cast a "yes" vote on Question 2. Let's put an end to this threat hanging over our community.
ANTHONY J. MAROLDA
Annisquam
