MARION — As Marion approaches the state-mandated 10% affordable housing requirement, it should reconsider its own affordable housing bylaw to allow the town to generate as much revenue from taxes as possible, a resident and developer suggested

The state currently requires towns to have 10% of their housing as affordable housing. If not, it allows developers to bypass certain land use restrictions under section 40B of its laws.

Some years ago, Marion developed its own bylaw, saying that 10% of each housing development should be affordable. The bylaw was supposed to show the state that Marion was addressing the issue.

But, speaking at a Dec. 16 Planning Board meeting, developer and Marion resident Sherman Briggs argued that because affordable units are taxed for less, they “take away the taxable value of the project, and that is bad.”

Briggs said the idea behind the town’s current affordable housing bylaw was that the town could “put 40Bs to bed.” But, he noted “it hasn’t even been used once.”

Once the town reaches the required quota (which it will with a proposed project), it should remove the bylaw, he said.

A recently proposed 40B project on Wareham Road would rent 76 units at market rate and make 20 affordable. But because the project is a 40B, all 96 units count as affordable in the eyes of the state.

“We need 45 units to get to 10%, but are getting 96.” Briggs said.

If the town changed the requirements, that many units could cover the requirement despite any town growth for decades, board members pointed out.

Planning Board member Andrew Daniel seemed to agree.

“Once we meet that 10 percent, why are we hurting ourselves with more regulations?” he asked.

Planning Board Chair Will Saltonstall pointed out that a bylaw change “involves some big policy decisions that others will want to be involved in.”

No decisions were made at the Dec. 16 meeting.