The year is drawing to a close, bringing with it a deadline for many municipalities to fall in line with a state law intended to create more housing down the road.
But this final stretch is not without its issues for the much-debated MBTA Communities Act.
In a special town meeting Monday night, Wrentham residents overwhelmingly voted to reject a new zoning plan with a 542–53 vote, putting the town decidedly in the noncompliance category for the end of the year. That means, under the law, it would lose access to key state funds and could risk being sued into compliance by the state’s attorney general.
The MBTA Communities Act is a housing law that requires 177 municipalities to create or change zoning that expands housing units in dense areas, largely around transit stations — and 142 must do so by the end of this year. Just how many will be out of compliance isn’t clear yet, since several cities and towns have votes scheduled in the next two weeks.
Or there are cases like Marblehead, where voters rejected zoning changes at a May town meeting. There are no plans for a special town meeting before December 31, after which the town would be out of compliance.
“Ultimately, the select board decided not to go forward with a special town meeting. There was some resistance from residents on that matter. So we are looking to bring forth another warrant article at the regular town meeting in May,” said Marblehead town administrator Thatcher Kezer. He said the town is making a “concerted effort” to get it passed, creating three different zoning districts.
The law doesn’t directly mandate building more housing: it insists on zoning changes that would let developers more easily build much-needed multi-family housing across the state.
Nearly 2,900 new units of housing have already been proposed thanks to the law, according to the state. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities said these are housing projects that have been “proposed in multifamily districts created in response to the law,” and may not reflect the full number.
“Historically restrictive local zoning across the state has led to more expensive housing and limited options for tenants and homebuyers. People want to live in Massachusetts and the MBTA communities law is working to remove barriers to housing production,” said Ed Augustus, the state’s housing secretary, in a statement.
Augustus said that communities aren’t just complying with the law but seizing “the opportunity to create and expand vibrant, affordable neighborhoods” that meet the needs of young families, senior citizens and a municipal workforce.
What is the law, and how are communities responding?
The MBTA Communities Act was signed by former Gov. Charlie Baker in 2021. On the books, it’s officially Section 3A of the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40A.
The law focus on communities close to public transit. Cities and towns near MBTA subways — 12 of them — had to change their zoning last year; another 130 that have commuter rail stations or are adjacent to a community served by the T must make changes by the end of December. Thirty-five more small towns have until the end of next year to comply.
Every city and town must zone for a minimum number of units when they draw their districts, a number that is individually set by the state.
Those that fail to comply run the risk of being sued into compliance by the state and automatically lose some types of state funding, including money for roads, bridges, sewer, and water improvements.
Where things stand
As of Monday’s state data update, 39 communities are fully compliant, 133 have interim compliance, three have conditional compliance and two are noncompliant: Milton and Holden.
Interim compliance means the community has submitted an action plan to the state, submitted their zoning district, and is waiting for the state to review whether they’re in full compliance. Conditional compliance means municipalities have passed their zoning districts but need minor adjustments and require a vote locally to approve any changes.
Holden is the only town that hasn’t even taken step one of submitting an action plan, and is not compliant.
But some of those have not ultimately moved forward with specific zoning plans — like Wrentham — and will be out of compliance next year. Officials in Wrentham didn’t reply to requests for comment.
Some municipalities have held recent meetings just ahead of the deadline, like in Weston, a community with multiple commuter rail stops. On Dec. 4, voters decidedly rejected a proposal that would have amended zoning bylaws in a 544-195 vote.
Six additional communities will be voting in the next two weeks to try to come into compliance: Halifax, Marshfield, Brockton, Waltham, Lynn, and Framingham.
Towns that have been skeptical about implementing the law have raised a variety of concerns, including a change in their “small town” vibe, frustration with state intervention, disdain for multifamily units and worries that infrastructure bills on often-forgotten but costly items like sewer upgrades can fall to them, even with some grants available.
Resistant cities and towns are already facing legal action, one by Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office and another by a local group.
In August 2023, Holden, which has until Dec. 31 to be compliant, was sued by Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, which argued the town was hurting low income residents by not complying in easing the area’s housing crisis. A judge dismissed the suit.
In February 2024, a town referendum in Milton invalidated a previously approved change that would have brought Milton into compliance. Campbell’s office sued the town soon after.
Marblehead hasn’t communicated with the state attorney general’s office about worries of a lawsuit after Jan. 1, but Kezer said that legal counsel “is tracking” that issue.
Campbell did not directly respond to questions about whether she would be suing communities that are not in compliance after December 31.
“Communities must comply with the law or they risk consequences like the loss of certain state funding and potential enforcement action, and my office remains available to assist communities with compliance no matter their deadline,” the attorney general wrote in a statement.
