By George P. Hassett

When a proposal to regulate the condo conversion process returned to aldermen this summer after being roundly rejected by an outraged public in 2006, supporters stressed that the Greater Boston Real Estate Board participated in drafting the new version.

However, earlier this month the board clearly expressed that it “does not support [the ordinance] and made it clear to all parties involved in the creation of the ordinance that as an organization, GBREB can not support it.”

The clear withholding of support for the proposed ordinance is a shift from an August press release from the city in which Gregory P. Vasil “commends” Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and said, “Many of the concerns that private property owners had with previous versions have now been addressed, and we believe that it should be a marked improvement over earlier drafts.”

Earlier this week, when asked by a reporter if the real estate board was supporting the measure, Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz said she believed they were. Gewirtz chaired the working group that worked for almost two years to revise the proposal.

“The Greater Boston Real Estate Board was a key player in the negotiations,” she said. “Their sign-off was very important to everyone involved. The task force would not have come forward if we were not all in agreement that this was good for Somerville.”

Vasil maintains that he never offered the endorsement of the board and said it is still possible the group may oppose it, depending on what happens when the plan is presented to the public.

City spokeswoman Lesley Delaney Hawkins said the city-issued press release ‚Äúdoesn’t give the impression that the Greater Boston Real Estate Board supports the ordinance. But that they support the process‚Äù that led to the ordinance being drafted, she said.

Vasil declined to name the city he lives in but did say it is not Somerville. “I have a little bit of familiarity with the city but not a lot,” he said.

As the real estate market boomed in Somerville earlier in the decade, blocks of two- and three-family homes were converted into condos. Between July 2004 and June 2005, 578 condominium units were created, a 70 percent increase over the prior fiscal year, according to city records.

Somerville’s housing stock of multi-family homes made it a unique and fertile ground for conversions, which helped to boost the city’s tax base. The city’s unique situation with conversions raises the question of, why didn’t a Somerville Realtor represent the Real Estate community?

Vasil said he believes Curtatone asked the board to participate in the revision process two years ago. He could not say how he came to participate. But he is clear that the proposed law does not have the board’s support. ‚ÄúWe didn’t embrace or endorse anything,‚Äù he said.