Responding to the MBTA Communities law requiring suburbs to loosen restrictions on multifamily development, the Chelmsford Planning Board adopted a strategy this week specifically to minimize additional housing development.

Board members reassured an overflow crowd of residents that they ruled out parcels that could accommodate a large development, including a 21-acre office park owned by The Davis Cos. near the junction of Routes 3 and 495.

“If the state is telling me to do something, I’m going to comply, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to make it easy to develop,” Planning Board member Annita Tanini said at the Feb. 28 public hearing. “It’s making as many barriers to entry as possible.”

Instead of rezoning vacant parcels that could accommodate housing projects, the board recommended a section of Route 110 already built out with condominium complexes under individual ownership.

What else is on tap today?

• BRT for Everett Development Zone: The MBTA says it wants to extend the SL3 service on its Silver Line bus rapid transit network from Chelsea to Everett and Boston’s Sullivan Square. But a timeline for doing so is still unclear.
• Quincy Office’s ‘Value Proposition’: FoxRock Properties acquired a Quincy office building for $6 million, betting on companies opting for lower-cost workspaces in the suburbs.
• Biden Offers Dollars, Crackdown:  President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass a package of tax credits and other funding measures to help address the nation’s housing shortage during his State of the Union speech last night.
• Powell Retreats on Basel III: The sweeping bank regulatory proposal will be significantly revised by year’s end, the Federal Reserve chair said yesterday. It’s a major victory for large banks.
• Beige Book Optimism: The latest report that the Federal Reserve compiled from banking and business contacts across New England revealed little movement in macroeconomic conditions, but it did indicate that “home sales appeared to turn a corner in recent data.”

What can I look forward to?

Here are just a few of the things to look forward to in Sunday’s newsletter. Not a B&T subscriber? Change that here.

• It’s our annual Top Lenders rankings of the most prolific mortgage lenders in Massachusetts. Did your institution make the cut?
• Office building owners have options, and Boston’s leaders may not when it comes to dealing with the ways falling office property values will impact the city’s budget.
• Could this time be different for the dream of a frequent, fast, electrified commuter rail network for Boston?