Dean Street Elderly Housing Project Refiled Under Chapter 40B as Board Seeks Attorney General Zoning Ruling-August 23, 1977

The Norwood Board of Appeals has tentatively scheduled a second public hearing for September 15 to review a refiled application from developer Richard Vazza for a proposed $2 million elderly housing project on Dean Street. Richard Vazza officially resubmitted his development plans to the town last Friday by utilizing Chapter 40B of the Massachusetts General Laws, a state statute widely referred to as the “anti-snob zoning law”.

The developer’s strategic shift follows a swift breakdown of his initial development path. Richard Vazza‘s original application for the complex, which was submitted under the standard guidelines of Chapter 40A, had been fully approved by the appeals board on July 18. However, that local municipal approval was abruptly rescinded on July 28 after the appeals board learned that Richard Vazza could not legally agree to a binding town covenant. The proposed covenant was designed to permanently guarantee that the complex would be strictly restricted to elderly tenants and could never be structurally subdivided or converted into commercial condominiums.

The developer’s attorney, John Bradley, explained that the builder was entirely blocked from signing the town’s covenant because the restriction directly conflicts with the underlying regulations of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD has formally agreed to provide a federal loan to cover 90 percent of the $2 million project cost, provided it secures local approval.

By bypassing traditional local zoning pathways and refiling under Chapter 40B, Richard Vazza is leveraging a state framework that grants local appeals boards substantially more statutory power to issue sweeping variances for subsidized housing developments. When announcing his intent to utilize the anti-snob zoning law, Richard Vazza noted that while Chapter 40B allows the local board to impose certain conditions, “it gives them a lot of control over the project”.

The developer’s revised plan seeks specific local zoning variances to construct five separate residential buildings on the site instead of just one, increase the total number of housing units from 67 up to 72, and drastically decrease the number of required parking spaces from 144 down to 72. Under the rules of Chapter 40B, if the local board chooses to deny these necessary variances, Richard Vazza possesses the legal option to appeal the local decision to the state Housing Appeals Committee, which holds the absolute legal authority to completely overrule local town boards. Richard Vazza maintains an active land-purchase agreement with site owner Charles Elias, which remains fully contingent upon securing the appeals board permits and final funding approval from HUD.

The Board of Appeals also voted during its session last night to formally request an official legal ruling from the Massachusetts Attorney General to clarify which state enabling act governs their current municipal decisions. The board is seeking a definitive resolution on whether they are legally operating under the newly enacted Chapter 808 or the older Chapter 40A of the Massachusetts General Laws.

Town Counsel Justin C. Barton explained to the board that Chapter 808—which serves as an amendment to the state’s comprehensive zoning enabling act—permits local boards to grant use variances. Conversely, the older Chapter 40A statutes explicitly prohibit local boards from taking such zoning actions. Justin C. Barton noted that the newer, more restrictive state enabling act was originally implemented by lawmakers to curb widespread abuses of power by towns in other regions of the state that over-utilized use variances. He clarified that until Norwood’s local town bylaws are officially amended by a vote of the town meeting to explicitly grant use variance powers, the appeals board remains legally restricted to granting standard setbacks, sideyard allowances, and temporary use variances.

Appeals board Chairman George Eysie questioned the timing of the transition, asking whether the specific wording of Chapter 808 delayed the law’s actual implementation date until June 1978, unless a town meeting voted it in earlier. Justin C. Barton explained that Governor Michael Dukakis had recently approved the legislative bill and granted it an immediate emergency status, making its provisions effective across the state without delay. Seeking absolute clarity, the board voted to draft an official letter to the selectmen, asking them to formally submit the query to the attorney general.

In other municipal business last night, the appeals board approved a series of temporary permits for the Norfolk Mental Health Association. The board granted a one-year permit for the operation of a child activity center and a concurrent two-year permit for a mental health clinic, with both community facilities located on Nahatan Street.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger