Planning Board Rejects Affordable Housing Zoning Rewrite
Malden's Planning Board voted to recommend against a rewrite of the city's inclusionary zoning ordinance that would have cut the minimum affordable-housing requirement from 15 percent to 10 percent.
Planning Board · Meeting of August 12, 2026
Malden's Planning Board voted to recommend against a rewrite of the city's inclusionary zoning ordinance that would have cut the minimum affordable-housing requirement from 15 percent to 10 percent. City Planner Michelle Romero and Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development Director Alex Pratt presented an economic feasibility study backing the change, but members, led by Patrick Hayes, voted 6-0 to send it back to the City Council, demanding a redraft addressing parking cuts, a Residence A height bonus and the affordability reduction itself. "I think lessening the requirement seems like we're going in the wrong direction," Hayes said.
The board also narrowly backed, 5-1, a cottage food ordinance letting residents sell homemade baked goods after stripping out a proposed pickup allowance, and unanimously endorsed three zoning changes easing special-permit rules for hotels, medical offices and other businesses.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
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Source: the Planning Board meeting of August 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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