15 Massachusetts Towns Are Not In Compliance With The MBTA Communities Act. Will They Face Legal Consequences?

CBS Boston

October 30, 2025

With just over two months left in the year, 15 towns in Massachusetts are not in compliance with the MBTA Communities Act, raising the possibility that they could face legal consequences.

The law, designed to boost the stock of affordable housing, affects any community that has an MBTA stop. Communities with an MBTA station in a neighboring city or town are also impacted. The law requires communities to have zoning that allows for multi-family housing within a half-mile of public transit.

"Some towns that don't have a tradition of multifamily housing, we're talking 3-deckers, apartment buildings, things like that, they don't necessarily want to do that," said Mike Deehan of Axios Boston, who has been tracking the pushback. "They want to keep it more single-family."

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