'Assault On Democracy': Holden Says It Won't Comply With MBTA Zoning After Milton Sued

HOLDEN, MA — Over the past week, state officials have revoked grants and filed a lawsuit against Milton after voters in the town bordering Boston overturned multifamily zoning changes under the new MBTA Communities law.

Holden, a town whose leaders have said they will not comply with the law, is not facing any state-level consequences at the moment — and triumphed, at least briefly, when a state judge dismissed a nonprofit group's lawsuit over the town's noncompliance with the zoning law.

According to state officials, Holden has more leeway under the MBTA Communities law because it is classified as an "adjacent community." Holden doesn't have its own MBTA station, but does border Worcester, which has a Commuter Rail stop at Union Station.

The 2021 MBTA Communities law aimed at boosting housing production requires 177 cities and towns that either have an MBTA station — be it a subway station or Commuter Rail — or abut a city or town with an MBTA station to create multifamily zones near transit. That means many suburban towns that have eschewed dense housing will have to at least make it possible to build multifamily units. The law does not require cities and towns to actually build housing, just zone for it. The state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities has funded the mandate, handing out thousands in planning grants to help cities and towns draw new multifamily zones.

Holden has until the end of the year to comply before the state could feasibly take action against the town. The law classifies Milton as a direct MBTA community because it has stops along the T's Mattapan Trolley — although town leaders say the trolley doesn't actually count as a T facility under the law. Milton Town Meeting approved a plan for new multifamily zones in December, but voters overturned the new zones in a special election on Feb. 14.

Holden Town Manager Peter Lukes Tuesday called Attorney General Andrea Campbell's lawsuit against Milton an "assault on democracy" — and reiterated that Holden most likely won't comply with the law.

"Holden is currently not participating in the MBTA Communities Program per the legislation's 'guidelines,'" Lukes said via email Tuesday. "We are examining if there is any way for the town to follow the MBTA Communities legislation that would still be in the best interests of the town. Based on our current analysis, It seems unlikely that we will be able to do so."

"If the Judicial Branch can force the citizenry to vote a certain way by declaring the outcome of that vote 'mandatory,' then we no longer have a free voting system," he continued.

Holden was the first community to face consequences for missing deadlines under the law. The Worcester-based Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance filed suit against the town in August on behalf of local residents, including a Holden resident and a woman who has been unable to find affordable housing. But a superior court judge dismissed the suit in December, saying the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a specific harm they suffered due to Holden's noncompliance with the law.

So far, Holden has skipped interim deadlines related to compliance with the law. Holden has a deadline of December 2024 to adopt new multifamily zones.

Lawyers for Civil Rights, the legal group that represented CMHA in the Holden lawsuit, is appealing the dismissal. Executive Director Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal said the organization is in full support of Campbell's lawsuit against Milton.

"[A]ny municipality that refuses to comply with MBTA Zoning Law is selfishly — and illegally — entrenching an unacceptable status quo," he said Tuesday. "The law explicitly requires every covered community to help combat the affordable housing crisis by allowing for more multifamily housing development. It also aims to curtail racially segregated housing patterns by generating more affordable options in historically exclusionary areas. Today’s suit brings us one step closer to a world in which all Commonwealth residents, regardless of their race or income, can secure quality housing in their neighborhood of choice."