Spicer Vetoes Framingham Apartment Moratorium

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer on Monday vetoed the city's pending apartment moratorium, which was approved 10-1 by the City Council on Aug. 4. Spicer had publicly opposed the measure in recent weeks.

This is Spicer's second veto over the last 12 months, but could be overturned by a two-thirds majority vote of the Council. The Council has to vote to overturn within 30 days, but not sooner than 10 days, according to the City Charter. The next City council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 3.

In a statement, Spicer outlined several reasons for the veto, which she has articulated before: that it's bad for business in Framingham (and opposed by business leaders), and that it could exacerbate an already bad housing shortage in the area.

"Any moratorium on multi-family housing, even a temporary one, will damage the city of Framingham and could inhibit Framingham’s potential growth for years to come," she said in a statement.

But many residents in Framingham want the moratorium, mainly to study how recent apartment developments have affected the school system and traffic. The measure was brought to City Council over the winter by District 1 Councilor Christine Long.