Fair Share will not ruin a municipality's "character."
Fair Share will not ruin a municipality's "character."
Answer
Those opposed to Fair Share, and really any effort to generate more affordability, frequently raise concerns about the impact affordable housing development will have on their town's "character," a term that is vague and means different things to different people. Fair Share creates a planning and zoning structure that incentivizes towns to allow for affordability, but within their own community vision - including local sensibilities about architecture, town layout, and history. To the extent "character" is interpreted to mean a predominantly single-family home municipality cannot have denser housing that is more affordable, that simply runs contrary to the state law delegating zoning powers to municipalities on the condition that they permit some affordability.