Legislature overrides Marion housing veto
By DAVID KIBBE, Standard-Times staff writer
BOSTON -- The Legislature yesterday overrode Gov. Mitt Romney's veto of a Marion initiative to grant tax breaks to homeowners who agree to keep their homes affordable if they sell them.
The first-of-its-kind Marion Homes Program is one part of the town's plan to gradually have 10 percent of its housing stock classified as affordable within a decade. That would exempt Marion from Chapter 40B, the state law that allows developers to supersede zoning in towns with less than 10 percent affordable housing.
But Gov. Romney declined to sign the measure on July 15, in effect vetoing it. In his message to the Legislature, Gov. Romney said the program "may have an adverse effect on elderly homeowners."
Gov. Romney said the permanent restriction on the homeowner would result in a cap on the sale price of about $185,000, regardless of the true value of the home.
"As property values in Marion are high, a participating homeowner who has agreed to a restriction might thereby forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars of equity in his or her home upon its sale," Gov. Romney said.
"Such a forfeiture could have very adverse consequences for the homeowner who later needed that equity sum to pay for nursing care or assisted living. The bill contains no requirement that these consequences be disclosed to a participating homeowner in advance."
The House and Senate overrode the veto by the required two-thirds vote.
Rep. William M. Straus, D-Mattapoisett, who backed the override, said the homes program provided free financial consultation before people entered into the agreement.
In the new homes program, the town will offer real estate tax exemptions to homeowners in exchange for limiting the resale value to affordable prices. The town believes it will help Marion keep its small-town character, while providing home ownership opportunities to elderly and lower-income residents.
The state Department of Housing and Community Development must give final approval to the town's plan, which outlines how it will run.
"It went through Town Meeting," Rep. Straus said. "It was the subject of discussion for several years in Marion. It was unfortunate that the governor would have tried to block a reform measure that was initiated at the town level on the SouthCoast."
This story appeared on Page A3 of The Standard-Times on July 23, 2004.
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