SAUGUS — It has been confirmed that the developer of the 20 Rear Bennett Highway apartment project has filed an appeal with the Housing Appeals Committee against the safe harbor appeal made by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The Board originally announced it would file for safe harbor at a Jan. 22 meeting and later, at a March 26 meeting, announced that the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities upheld the appeal. However, the developer had until Tuesday, April 7, to file for an appeal.
Safe harbor allows a municipality to temporarily deny or restrict comprehensive permit applications for affordable housing developments without facing state-level appeals.
Now, the developer has the opportunity to state their case in their own appeal.
If the safe harbor claim prevails, the matter is returned to the Board, and it could deny the project. However, if the developer prevails, the matter is remanded to the Board, and the public hearing continues.
