Marblehead selectmen to examine alternatives to state’s Chapter 40B law

MARBLEHEAD – Selectmen want to take a serious look at alternatives to the state Chapter 40B law, which so far has given more aid to developers than it has to the town.Attorney Kurt James and Chairman Dirk Isbrandtsen of the Fair Housing Committee appeared before Selectmen Wednesday to gain approval for an advisory committee that will study so-called smart growth zoning.In a Power Point display James said smart growth gives the town control over affordable housing locations.The town may use state Chapter 40R, which requires developers to build one affordable unit for every five in a development, or it may use inclusionary zoning, which requires developers to either build affordable units or pay the town a fee that the town can use to buy affordable units on its own.The committee will include members or designees of the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board and Fair Housing Committee. Town Planner Becky Curran will serve on the committee ex officio.In addition to strategies the committee will look at a grant program which could get the town as much as $50,000 to determine locations suitable for Chapter 40R affordable housing.At present, the town’s only Chapter 40B project is the 44-unit Lead Mills development on the Salem line. The Board of Appeals is holding hearings on that now.James’s presentation pointed out some jarring statistics about Marblehead.The median town income is $87,000 a year, which enables the wage-earner to afford a $393,594 home – but in 2005 the median home was priced at $573,500.