Lexington, Mass., Code of Bylaws ch 144 § 144-4

A. License required. No housing accommodation in the Town shall be converted to condominium or cooperative units after May 13, 1987, unless the owner or purchaser, as the case may be, of such housing accommodation shall have first secured a conversion license from the Board. The Board shall grant a conversion license, provided the applicant has complied with all requirements of federal, state and local law and regulations. B. License applications. Applications for conversion licenses shall be made on forms established by the Board. Application forms shall be signed by the applicant and shall be accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the Board that the applicant has notified the Lexington Housing Authority, the Lexington Housing Assistance Board and all affected tenants of the applicant's intent to convert the subject housing accommodations to condominium or cooperative units; which notice to affected tenants shall include, at a minimum, all information required by Section 4 of Chapter 527 of the Acts of 1983, as amended, as can be provided prior to the creation of the condominium or cooperative units, together with such other information as the Board may from time to time require. C. Public hearing notice. Upon receipt of the completed conversion license application, the materials described in Subsection B , and payment of the application filing fee as provided in § 144-9 , the Board shall serve notice of a public hearing to all tenants of the subject housing accommodation by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, and by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town. D. Form of notice. The notice of the public hearing shall schedule the date for a public hearing not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days from the date of that notice. By agreement of a majority of the Board and the applicant, the public hearing may be reasonably postponed for up to an additional 60 days beyond the initial public hearing date; provided, however, that no postponement shall be made during the seven days prior to the public hearing. In the event of a postponement, the Board shall renotify the parties entitled to receive notice pursuant to this section and shall republish the notice of the public hearing in the same newspaper. E. Decisions. Except as provided for in this section, the Board shall issue a written decision within 60 days of the public hearing, which shall be duly filed with the Town Clerk and served to the applicant and all tenants entitled to receive notice pursuant to Subsection C by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. In the event that the Board does not so issue a written decision within 60 days of the public hearing, the Board shall be deemed to have granted the conversion license requested without condition, except those imposed by state law. The Board shall, upon request of any party, issue a written confirmation of its deemed decision within seven days of such request. F. Conversion license conditions. (1) Any conversion license issued by the Board may contain reasonable conditions for the protection of tenants. The Board shall consider the following factors in determining whether to impose any conditions and in deciding what conditions may be appropriate in connection with a particular conversion: (a) The protection of the public interest of the Town of Lexington in preserving the existing rental housing accommodations available for use by tenants, particularly those who are elderly, handicapped, or of low to moderate income; (b) The hardships imposed on the tenants residing in the housing accommodations proposed to be converted; (c) The aggravation of the shortage of rental housing accommodations in the Town which may result from the conversion, especially housing accommodations suitable for low- and moderate-income tenants, single-parent household tenants, elderly tenants, handicapped tenants, or fixed-income tenants; (d) The hardships imposed on the owner or purchaser of the unit; and (e) Reasonable arrangements by the owner, purchaser, or third parties, to alleviate the hardships on the tenants affected by the proposed conversion. (2) The conversion license conditions imposed may include, but are not limited to: (a) Specified schedules for the sale of individual units; or (b) The offering of a specified percentage of units to the Lexington Housing Authority, the Lexington Housing Assistance Board or other entity approved by the Board for low- and moderate-income rental units as provided in § 144-7 of these regulations.