CommunityScale

Map of GLAM in North Reading

Win for affordable housing in court supported by our analysis

While at Stantec, Nels Nelson and Sarabrent McCoy supported the proponent of affordable housing development in North Reading, Massachusetts. The case was in front of the State’s Housing Appeals Court, which recently decided in favor of the developer.

Our team’s expert testimony was found by the court to be accurate, thereby allowing the developer to proceed with affordable housing development under the Massachusetts 40B program. Our team has several successful analyses, including in Braintree, Weston, Medford, and now North Reading.

The detailed analysis includes interpreting the State’s General Land Area Minimum (GLAM) guidelines to determine if 1.5% of the community’s developable land area is associated with subsidized affordable housing, also known as 1.5% Safe Harbor.

By

Nels Nelson, co-founding Principal at CommunityScale, is passionate about planning happier, healthier, and more resilient places. His goal today? Optimizing community strategies with data-driven techniques. His diverse clients appreciate his swift, accurate, and transparent insights.

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Sarabrent McCoy, Associate at CommunityScale, is specialized in research, geospatial data analysis, and urban design for strategic planning processes. She works to establish data-driven observations that help build consensus across stakeholders. Prior to consulting, she worked as a Fellow for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on climate adaptation and resilience initiatives and served as planning researcher for the City of Somerville, MA.