Newton Lawyer Sacked from ZBA for Representing 40B Foes

In what seems to be an unashamed act of political reprisal, Newton Mayor Setti Warren refused to re-appoint Attorney Barbara Huggins for another full term on the ZBA.  Ms. Huggins is an experienced land use and zoning attorney and a partner in the firm Huggins & Witten, which serves as counsel to several municipalities around the Commonwealth on Chapter 40B matters, including recently Arlington and Stoneham.  She represented the Town of Stow in its defense of a permit issued for a controversial project that was overturned by the Appeals Court in 2015.  She has been in practice since 1993 and is a former Land Court law clerk.  

In denying Ms. Huggins another term, Mayor Warren stated “the reason for my decision was because her work in other communities has involved opposing 40B housing developments, which could give an appearance of bias.”  However, as the Newton Tab reported yesterday, Mayor Warren re-appointed two other members who have ties to 40B developers, including Bill McLaughlin, an executive vice president at Avalon Communities, which develops mega-Chapter 40B projects in towns across the Commonwealth. It appears that Ms. Huggins was replaced due to the Mayor’s disagreement with the positions of Ms. Huggins’ clients.