UPDATE: Read the appeal here.

Developers of the proposed 135-unit apartment complex on Rowe Street in Newton have challenged the city ’s assertion that it has met an affordable housing threshold that would put it outside the parameters of the state’s Chapter 40B affordable housing law, Ellen Ishkanian reports in the Sunday Globe.

If the state determines that the city has met the threshold, the Rowe Street project and other 40B affordable housing proposals can still go forward.

The focus of the review process would be shifted, however, with the city having a greater ability to address local concerns, said James Freas, Newton’s acting planning director.

In addition, rather than a developer being able to appeal a Zoning Board of Appeals decision to the state Department of Housing and Community Development, it would have to go through state Land Court, which is a potentially lengthier and more costly process.