No litmus test for local need; Even if a municipality reaches its 10% minimum affordable housing under Chapter 40B, a housing project may still be consistent with a local need and avoid local zoning.

The Supreme Judicial Court found that the Town of Amherst appropriately granted a comprehensive permit under chapter 40B because the town had an “overwhelming need for affordable housing”  outweighing “’constraints imposed by the zoning bylaw,’” despite the fact that it already supplied the statutory minimum of 10% affordable units.

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The case is Boothroyd v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Amherst, SJC-09896 (June 14, 2007) and can be found HERE.