Weston ZBA unanimously approves 40B affordable housing regulatory agreement for North Ave

WESTON -- October 24, 2023, Weston's Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-0 to accept an Affordable Housing Regulatory Agreement protecting the long-term affordability of units at 269 North Ave., a 40B development. Chair Jane Fisher Carlson, member Stephen J. Larocque, and associate member Laura Mintz all voted in favor at the October 24 Zoom meeting, then voted again unanimously to delegate execution authority to Carlson so she could sign and notarize the document on the board's behalf. Town counsel George Pucci of KP Law described the agreement as a "springing" instrument that activates only if the Mass Housing Finance Agency exits its monitoring role once project financing is retired, at which point the town would take over affordability oversight in perpetuity. Resident Brian Johnson of 287 North Ave raised concerns in public comment that market-rate rents now listed in the Mass Housing regulatory agreement, a two-bedroom unit shown at $5,950 per month versus the $3,067 cited in the original pro forma, would have pushed the development above the 7 percent profitability threshold and required it to remain at 12 units rather than 16. Attorney Brian Levy, counsel to the developer, said the rates are set by Mass Housing and are not negotiable.