Micro-apartments are gaining acceptance in nearby Boston and in places such as San Francisco and New York, but Weymouth, Mass., officials and neighbors were not receptive to a proposal for tiny dwellings this summer.
“This is Weymouth, not Boston,” said the owner of a hair salon near the proposed apartment project. She opposed the Weymouth micro-unit plan, as did the East Weymouth Neighborhood Association and two town councilors.
Most neighbors viewed the proposal as a rooming house because of the planned 19 units of about 300 sf, and were worried about added traffic in an already congested area.
“Generally the comments from the public were not positive,” Weymouth town planner Abby McCabe told the Boston Globe. The town’s Board of Zoning Appeals was concerned that the overall project was too large for the site, but took no position on the micro-unit aspect of it, McCabe said.
The developer has decided to scrap the concept for 15 more conventionally sized, but still small, units—most ranging from 430 sf to 460 sf. This is an indication that tiny apartments might find an inhospitable reception outside of the large urban hubs that have embraced them as affordable options for young professionals.
Related Stories
| Nov 10, 2011
New legislation aimed at improving energy efficiency in federal buildings
Recently introduced legislation, the “High-Performance Federal Buildings Act,” would help federal agencies save energy and money by improving building performance.
| Nov 4, 2011
CSI and ICC Evaluation Service agree to reference GreenFormat in ICC-ES Environmental Reports?
ICC-ES currently references CSI's MasterFormat and other formats in all of its evaluation reports. The MOU will add GreenFormat references.
| Nov 3, 2011
House Votes to Kill 3% Withholding Requirement; Senate Yet to Vote
The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week to repeal a 3% IRS withholding tax on businesses that do work for the government.
| Nov 3, 2011
OSHA Publishes Information on Rights and Safety
OSHA recently published new and revised information that explains workers’ and employers’ rights, as well as how to protect workers from hazards in the construction industry.
| Nov 3, 2011
Sierra Club Critical of Albuquerque Mayor’s Push to Weaken Green Code
The mayor’s plan to move to a less environmentally friendly code would mean confusion for people in the construction industry and a loss of energy efficiency and money for consumers, said Shrayas Jatkar of the Sierra Club.
| Nov 3, 2011
Lax Code Enforcement Blamed for Deaths in Turkey’s Earthquake
Despite tough safety codes approved a decade ago after earthquakes killed 18,000 people, lax enforcement led to hundreds of deaths after a recent earthquake in Turkey.
| Nov 3, 2011
International Green Construction Code Will Provide Template for Local Codes
A uniform code for green construction is being readied for publication in March.
| Oct 31, 2011
NIST issues new code requirements
Buildings taller than 420 feet are now required to include an extra exit stairwell or a specially designed elevator that occupants can use for evacuations.
| Oct 28, 2011
Los Angeles County mulling building codes for improving health
An ordinance would amend county building codes to promote better walking environments, encourage more bicycling, improve access to healthy foods (farmers markets, community gardens), and enhance project review requirements to ensure that developers include healthy-lifestyle components in their building plans.
| Oct 28, 2011
Bipartisan opposition to federal 3% withholding for contractors
Both major political parties and the Obama Administration support repealing a law that would withhold 3% of all government contracts.
