In a decision issued this past week, a panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court considered what it called the "somewhat perplexing question" of the interaction between the two appeal tracks provided in M.G.L. c. 40B: an abutters' appeal filed directly in the Superior Court, and a developer's appeal filed initially with the Housing Appeals Committee and then subject to further judicial review in the Superior Court. The result was a ruling that chipped away at one of the cornerstone principles of Chapter 40B: promoting the timely construction of subsidized housing by minimizing the delays that result from protracted court appeals brought by affordable housing opponents.

See this Mintz Levin Advisory for the details of the ruling and appeals.