MA Town First To Be Sued For Disregarding MBTA Communities Zoning Law

WORCESTER, MA — A lawsuit filed Thursday against Holden over its noncompliance with a new state multifamily zoning mandate will likely test the strength of the new law, and how it will shape the future of affordable housing in Massachusetts.

The Worcester-based Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance sued Holden for defying the 2021 MBTA Communities Zoning Law. The law that requires the 177 cities and towns either directly served by or adjacent to MBTA lines to create new multifamily zones if they don't already exist. Lawmakers hope the law will increase housing production as a way to relieve a shortage that's driven prices out of reach for many residents — pushing some into homelessness.

Holden is one of only two remaining MBTA communities in Massachusetts that missed a Jan. 31 deadline to submit a zoning plan to the state. Attorney General Andrea Campbell in March warned Holden the town could face lawsuits and the loss of funding for the town's housing authority for noncompliance.

The suit seeks a court ruling that all towns included in the MBTA Communities Zoning Law must comply to prevent a "domino effect" of other towns disregarding the law, the plaintiffs said.

"This dispute goes to the heart of the law. If Holden's interpretation is allowed to persist, MBTA Communities will be free to preserve the anti-density status quo that has driven the housing crisis, undermining the law's effectiveness and subjecting residents of the Commonwealth to a perpetually overpriced and segregated housing landscape," the suit says.

Joining CMHA in the lawsuit are two local residents: Jennifer Lish, a Holden homeowner who fears the town will be hurt by failure to comply with the law; and Lydiana Morales, the resident of a family shelter in Westborough who can't find affordable housing in the area.

"We must maximize every available tool to keep central Massachusetts families housed in their communities of choice," CMHA CEO Leah Bradley said in a news release. "With the unprecedented surge in rent prices and homelessness in recent years, more Massachusetts families are becoming homeless, and they are staying homeless longer. Communities across central Massachusetts are working with us to find solutions to the housing crisis. We are asking the same of Holden."

Holden Town Manager Peter Lukes said Friday the town hasn't officially received the lawsuit, and couldn't yet comment directly on the allegations. Any zoning change, he said, would ultimately go to Town Meeting for a vote.

"We look forward to vigorously defending the rights of Holden residents to determine their own zoning, as has always been the process through direct democracy at our annual Town Meeting. Even the MBTA Housing legislation, if it's deemed to be valid, requires that the final decision to amend the zoning receives Town Meeting approval. Perhaps CMHA would then try to sue the residents of Holden if the zoning change was voted down under the direction of the very same legislation that they are trying to force on communities," Lukes said via email.

After Campbell's warning in March, Lukes said the town would not be "intimidated by any threats or legal action."

Campbell noted in her guidance on the law that any town penalized for not complying would still be obligated to create new zoning.

"[The law] does not provide any mechanism by which a town or city may opt out," Campbell said.

The law does not require communities to actually build housing, only create zones for potential construction. The law is aimed at increasing the availability of housing statewide to relieve a larger housing shortage that's particularly dire adjacent to public transportation routes.

Holden, a town of nearly 20,000, is included in the law because it abuts Worcester, which has an MBTA commuter rail station. A majority of the town is zoned for single-family housing. Complying with the MBTA Communities law could bring up to 750 new multifamily units to the town, according to the nonprofit Abundant Housing Massachusetts.

The lawsuit also charges that high housing prices disproportionately harm residents of color. Zoning laws have been historically used to segregate populations, and majority-white Holden is upholding that legacy by failing to comply, the lawsuit says.

"Especially in suburban towns, restricting multifamily housing development suppresses the quantity of affordable housing and limits the opportunity for people with modest incomes to move there from segregated areas," the suit says.

Lawyers for Civil Rights and Brown Rudnick LLP are representing CMHA and the Holden resident in the lawsuit.

"The untenable position taken by the town of Holden must be unquestionably discredited to ensure timely compliance by all the covered communities," Brown Rudnick lead attorney Rebecca Lecaroz said in a news release Thursday.

Berkley, which is south of Taunton, is the only other town that still has not submitted a zoning plan to the state. Lawyers for Civil Rights has filed a public records request seeking documentation of Berkley's plan to comply with the law, according to the organization.