You would think, amid a recession that has put new construction in a deep freeze, Greater Boston’s all-too-abundant Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) types would declare victory and take a breather.

Alas, that’s not to be, for the self-proclaimed guardians of our cherished New England landscape never rest.

Apparently not satisfied with what amounts to an economic moratorium on everything from new downtown towers to suburban apartment projects, our nimbies want to take things a step further.

A pair of proposals, one before the Legislature, the other set to go before voters next November, would effectively quash any rebound in construction before it begins, shutting down new commercial and residential development for years to come.

A proposal making its way through the Statehouse would pull the plug on any new tower proposal in Boston or Cambridge that dares to cast an unsightly shadow across one of several prominent public parks.

But suburban developers face an equally grave challenge, with a ballot question set for next November’s elections that would gut a decades-old affordable housing law. And this one is the ultimate NIMBY fantasy, presenting the opportunity, in a single day of voting, to wipe out thousands of planned suburban condos and apartments.

For our struggling local economy, it could prove to be a deadly one-two punch.

“It’s one thing to deal with real issues, but it’s another thing when people put up these barriers on the basis that it is good for the community, but it is really there to stop development,” said David Begelfer, chief executive of NAIOP Massachusetts, which represents the local development community. “It’s very much the NIMBY attitude.”

Creeping In The Shadows

If you think building in Boston is tough now, just wait until new tower shadows are banished from the city limits. Of the two proposals, this shadowy proposal, so to speak, has the most potential to put a muzzle on the region’s main engine of economic growth.

Frankly, if it passes, it’s hard to see how any new tower would get built again in the Hub.

The bill essentially prohibits any new towers from being built near Copley Square, the new Greenway that cuts through the center of Boston, the Esplanade, Christopher Columbus Park in the North End and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. It adds to an already years-old restriction on new towers that would cast shadows on Boston Common.

New air-rights towers built over the Boston stretch of the Massachusetts Turnpike would also be judged by this tough, new no-shadow law. You couldn’t have built the Hancock Tower, the crown jewel of Boston’s skyline, under these regs.

And, if it passes, there are very clearly some new towers that just won’t get built. The proposed new condo sky-rise at Copley Place looks like toast, as do Don Chiofaro’s plans to replace an ugly garage next door to the Greenway by the New England Aquarium.

That’s too bad for our skyline, but even worse for our prospects of generating new jobs at a time when the economy appears to have a hit wall.

If land-starved Boston, the capital of New England’s economy, is to keep expanding, the only way for it to grow is up. And while it may take years to get back to expansion mode, we won’t get far if we freeze the Hub skyline and prevent any further change.

40Begone

Meanwhile, out in the suburbs, the nimbies are railing about the supposed evils of Chapter 40B, a 40-year old law aimed at spurring the development of affordable housing. Having succeeded in placing a question on next fall’s ballot that would repeal the law, critics want to have it both ways.

On one hand, they point to the dearth of affordable condos and apartments in the Boston area as evidence the old law does not work. At the same time, the nimbies backing the repeal are railing against developers who push forward with large housing projects under 40B, arguing it is somehow destroying local communities.

Go figure.

In fact, it is the deeply ingrained NIMBY attitudes of so many local officials and homeowners that has made Greater Boston such a difficult place to build most anything, especially affordable housing.

What little affordable housing we do have can mostly be attributed to 40B, which helps level the playing field for developers when dealing with obstructionist neighbors and officials.

If next fall’s repeal of 40B passes, you can kiss goodbye more than 10,000 new apartments and condos that have either already been granted approval or will soon be approved under 40B, the Citizens Housing and Planning Association estimates.

If so, it won’t take long for housing prices to start spiraling out of control again across Greater Boston as the economy recovers and a dearth of new construction puts upward pressure on the market. That, in turn, will have young professionals and families heading for the exits again, draining our aging workforce of badly needed youthful talent and energy.

We live in one of the more beautiful parts of the country, with history at every turn. But contrary to what the nimbies think, we also live in a bustling metropolis that needs to continually change if it is to thrive, not a museum.