Massachusetts' attorney general is suing the town of Milton after residents scrapped its required rezoning plan, an action the governor said should send a message to other cities and towns that consider ignoring the state's housing law.
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Attorney General Andrea Campbell filed the lawsuit Tuesday morning in the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County against the town for not complying with the state's MBTA Communities Law.
This comes after Gov. Maura Healey's administration said last week it will withhold state funding from Milton, starting with a $141K grant for sea wall and access improvements. The town also wouldn't be eligible for MassWorks and HousingWorks grants it has previously received.
“The housing affordability crisis affects all of us: families who face impossible choices between food on the table or a roof over their heads, young people who want to live here but are driven away by the cost, and a growing workforce we cannot house,” Campbell said in a statement.
“The MBTA Communities Law was enacted to address our region-wide need for housing, and compliance with it is mandatory.”
Campbell asked the court to assert that the law and its guidelines are mandatory and that the town needs to comply within three months, according to the lawsuit. If the town doesn't meet this deadline, it won't be allowed to enforce existing zoning that isn't compliant with the MBTA Communities Law.
The suit follows through on Campbell's threats to take legal action against cities and towns that don't comply with the law.
“I think it sends the right message,” Healey told reporters at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Forum Tuesday morning. “The message is the fact that for months now our administration and the attorney general have been very clear that this is the law, and we expect compliance and we will be there to enforce it.”
The town's residents struck down its proposed zoning plan on Feb. 14 in a 5,115-4,345 vote. The plan would have allowed 2,586 units to be built along Milton's four trolley stops and created two mandatory mixed-use districts in the Milton and Central Avenue Station subdistricts.
“We are absolutely committed to working with Milton and to be working with other cities and towns,” Healey said. “We are not going to solve our housing challenge, and it's a huge challenge in the state. We need more housing, and we need more homes where people can afford to live and stay.”
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