WRENTHAM - The state Appeals Court has ruled against the town in its suit against a state board to get the housing units at Wrentham Developmental Center classified as affordable.

The town has contended that housing at the center should be counted toward its affordable housing stock, which would push it above the state goal of communities having at least 10 percent of housing considered affordable.

Reaching that target gives communities the ability to have more say and even reject Chapter 40B affordable housing projects that otherwise can bypass local zoning and planning boards.

West Wrentham Village, a 30-unit affordable housing project planned off West Street that ignited strong protest from residents in the west end, was denied by the zoning board of appeals on the stance the town met the state goal.

The developer subsequently appealed to the state Housing Appeals Committee. The state Appeals Court found in favor of the state committee in the June 27 decision, upholding an order by the committee for the town to adhere to the 40B law for West Wrentham Village and hear the merits of that application.

The court did not explicitly render a finding on whether the center's housing can be included in the town's affordable housing, but the decision stated, "Housing provided to members of institutional communities may be affordable, but it is not ordinarily available to members of the community at large."

Wrentham has 147 units considered affordable, or about 5 percent of its housing stock, and would have reached about 12 percent affordable if the developmental center's units were counted. There are about 300 mentally disabled residents at the center.

State regulations had appeared to indicate that developmental center housing couldn't be counted as affordable, but town representatives said the area was murky and wanted to challenge the regulation. And town counsel rendered an opinion the developmental center housing should be considered affordable - something the zoning board relied on in its decisions.

The legal action dates back to Aug. 12, 2005 in Superior Court. The appeals case was heard March 13 of this year.

"I'm sure it will be something to be talked about," Selectman John Zizza said of the court decision and his board's next step.

"No one can build 40Bs in Wrentham" if the town wins its legal battle, Zizza said.

Town Administrator Jack McFeeley said there probably are several options selectmen now would want to consider.

Besides West Wrentham Village, the town has faced three other 40B projects in recent years, with the zoning board approving two: a 104-unit project off Route 140 near the Franklin line that is being appealed by an abutter, and a smaller one, Maplewood Village, close to that site and which has stalled.

The most recent is a 200-unit apartment complex planned off Route 1A that would be by far the largest housing complex in town. To be eligible for the state 40B affordable housing law, at least 25 percent of units must be affordable, and the latest developer plans that.

However, all units in such an apartment complex, not just the affordable units, are included in a community's affordable housing tally. That differs from condominiums.