Supreme Judicial Court - Mass Cases

iiny such condiLion. The HAC is a hearing tribunal
gjveri IirniLed jurisdiction to decide Lhe iss11e of
“whcLhcr, in t.he case of a dcnial. of LLI comprehensivc
perrriiL] an applicat.jon . . . the decision of the board
was rcasonable and consisLcnt. wi.th local. needs and, in
thc case of ;in approval . . . with conditions and
requi remariCs imposed, whet-her such conditions and
requireIricnts make the constructj on or operat-i on of
such housing uneconomic and wl2et.he.r they are
consj.st.ent with local needs.” G.L. c. dOB, s. 22.
To the extent the I-1AC has asscrted powers
heyond such hearirlg on these narrow issues, it has
acted ult.ra vircs and in excess oi Its authoriLy and
Che Trial Court erred in upholding the HAC.
‘The Supreme Judicial Court’s riiliny in Woburri,
451 Mass. 581 (2008) j.s precisely on point and was
discussed j.n detail driririy oral. argument. before Lhe
Trial. Court.
Iri Wohurn, the HAC ”evaluated whether each
condilion limposed by the board oi appeals] was
supported by a local concern that o1.1tweighs the
regional need for low and modcrate jncomo housing”
wit.hout first. subjecting the conditions to t.he
economic t.est. required hy G.L. c.4OB, 5.23. ‘Id. at
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