Marblehead's MBTA Zoning Non-Compliance Threatens $210K State Grant

MARBLEHEAD, MA — A $210,000 state Coastal Resilience Grant to analyze flood risk of Marblehead town-owned properties and infrastructure in the State Street Landing area, including the Harbormaster's Office, could be among the first of the state funding in jeopardy if the town follows through on its apparent intent not to comply with the MBTA Communities Act that requires expanded zoning for "by-right" multi-family housing.

The funding for the Tucker's Wharf Resilience Project was awarded this week as part of $15.2 million in state funding for coastal climate projects but is conditional upon the communities receiving the awards being in compliance with the MBTA Community Act by the Dec. 31 deadline.

• North Shore Cities, Towns Split On State MBTA Zoning Mandate

Towns that have not actively rejected the compliance are considered in interim compliance until the deadline. However, the Marblehead Select Board last month decided not to schedule the special town meeting in December that would be required for a vote to meet the new zoning requirements.

The zoning-compliance provisions were rejected at the annual town meeting this spring.

While the Peabody City Council last week bristled against complying with the new state law that Councilors called "a gross overstep" on behalf of state government and "deplorable legislation," Marblehead has gone the furthest among communities in the region to indicate that it intends not to comply by the Dec. 31 deadline.

Dozens of Marblehead residents packed a Sept. 11 Select Board meeting, which featured a lengthy presentation on the state law and the potential cost of non-compliance, with a series of brief interruptions that included chants of "No means no!" in referencing the annual town meeting vote.

But what they may have anticipated as a fight against Select Board members turned out to be an agreement to defy the state deadline while the ultimate costs of that defiance are being determined in the court system.

"I respect the vote and even the sentiment behind it," Select Board member Moses Grader said that night. "Pushing back on the presumptive authority of power in this town is in our DNA."

But forgoing the $210,000 State Street Landing grant could be just the brink of the potential state money lost in the defiance.

A presentation during that Select Board meeting said conversations with state officials — including Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll — indicated that all cities and towns had to comply, there would be no exceptions, and that the state would take legal action against the communities to force them
to comply whether or not they agree to forego the state grant funding or not.

Gov. Maura Healey last week announced an additional $15 million in state funding for housing and
infrastructure for only the cities and towns in compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. About half of the 130 classified MBTA communities are considered compliant with the zoning requirements with about a dozen deciding either to defy the mandate or delay their decisions until a case against the town of Milton plays out in front of the state Supreme Judicial Court.

A final verdict on that case is not expected prior to the Dec. 31 compliance deadline.

"A coalition of Democrats and Republicans passed the MBTA Communities Law, and it's my job to enforce it," Attorney General Andrea Campbell said in a statement to Patch in response to the Marblehead Select Board's decision in September. "Compliance with the law is mandatory, and this law is an essential tool to address our housing crisis, which sadly is leading to more and more residents leaving Massachusetts."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)