The state has taken the position that increasing the housing supply (especially "affordable" housing) takes precedence over local zoning rules.
The latest proposal by Workbench (actually a pair of proposals), tentatively named Clocktower Center, pushes the new state law envelope to its limits, envisioning a building up to either 8 or 16 stories in height, while contending that the city can do little to limit height.
The proposal is still in the pre-application phase, and a community meeting (Zoom only) is scheduled for June 26. More info available on the city project page.
There will no doubt be substantial local opposition, and there likely will be additional posts here as the proposal progresses. It will be interesting to watch how this plays out.
Another Workbench project, the Food Bin replacement building, is farther along in the planning/permitting process (see an intro in post #85). More info on that project is available on the city's project page.
