Ipswich Local News
To the editor:
Our state representative, Kristen Kassner, really “walks the walk” in addressing the housing crisis and deserves your vote on November 3.
New housing sometimes gets tripped up by a process called site plan review, which is common in other parts of the U.S. but has never been spelled out in Massachusetts state law. At its best, site plan review ensures that new development satisfies all local requirements; at its worst it becomes a way to delay and obstruct any new development, including new housing that we desperately need.
With her expertise as a former town planner, Kristen decided to take on this complicated issue where others before her had failed. She drafted a proposed state law and reached out to me for support when I was then (since retired) director of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. That led to something I’ve seen only a handful of times in more than 40 years of working with the state legislature: Kristen got together with all the stakeholders in a room, talked through the options, and reached unanimous agreement on how to move forward. It wasn’t just an agreement in concept: it was agreement on the actual language of a bill.
Kristen’s revised bill was refiled, endorsed by the Boston Globe, and approved by both the House and Senate. It is almost certain to get final approval and be signed by the governor by the end of this year.
It takes real leadership to get municipal officials, developers, planners, attorneys and housing advocates to all agree on the same thing to advance a larger public interest. Kristen has shown how it’s done and she richly deserves your vote.
Clark Ziegler
Ipswich
