I applaud your research that went into the making of this editorial ("Repair, don't abandon, Chapter 40B," July 2). However, after reading it I have come away with the opposite opinion.
The Oversight Committee's report suggested limiting profits to between 15 and 20 percent. Even that seems high to me who can't make 5 percent on my bank account. But it suggests that at present profits of 30, 40 or even 50 percent are existing.
Framingham has for quite a while been one of the towns that has met the standard of 10 percent low-income housing. Moreover, credit does not go to developers but directly to the town through their housing program.
You asked for an alternative to 40B. Let's tax cities and towns that don't make the 10 percent standard. Let's take half of that money and return it to the towns that do meet the standard and with the other half build housing throughout the state that meets the requirements of low-income housing while not being poorly planned or a rip off to the cities and towns. You called 40B "a flawed alternative" to building affordable housing. Its flaws don't need to be addressed. What we need is a better system. That can be done without abandoning affordable housing. Framingham has proved it.
DAVID T. ROBERTSON
Framingham
