To the editor:
First, I would like to commend Anthony Chamay for his excellent letter in the Current of Sept. 11, 2024. He provides much useful factual information as the basis for his reasonable suggestion. I can only add my opinion.
I voted for the housing plan presented at the Town Meeting in May. I thought it was a reasonable plan. I still think so, and I will vote for it again if the opportunity comes up. But I would also vote for a revised plan with fewer housing units that still meets the state requirements, as Mr. Chamay suggests.
I disagree with the suggestion by Mr. DiPiano, expressed in a previous letter, that we wait to see what happens with the town of Milton, which also voted not to conform to the state law. As Mr. Chamay points out in his letter, this is not a new law; it merely an amendment to a previous law. The argument of the opposition that the state has no right to regulate the zoning of our town has no merit; the original law has been there for years. Our representatives in the State House voted for this change, and they were right, in my opinion. The state needs more housing, and so does Marblehead.
Consider what might happen if we fail to conform to the state law. I am not a lawyer or any sort of expert, but here is what I think is one possibility: A developer comes in, buys some land and proposes to build a big building with lots of market rate (expensive) apartments. Of course, the town denies him a permit. Then he says something like this: “Your zoning regulations are in violation of the state law. The court will declare them null and void. See you in court.”
May this never happen here. Most towns have voted to conform to the new rules. People need more places to live. We should do our part.
Tim Parker
Arthur Avenue
