The court decided the MBTA Communities Law is constitutional and the Attorney General has the authority to enforce the law.
Boston, Massachusetts– Today, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts affirmed that the MBTA Communities Act is the law and that all cities and towns must comply with it.
The decision affirms the dedication and commitment of people working together across the region to create a Massachusetts that is more welcoming and affordable. The SJC validated that building more homes is good public policy. Well over 100 communities have said yes to zoning that creates more housing supply and Abundant Housing MA is hopeful new regulations can be enacted swiftly to maintain this momentum.
“Today’s decision reinforces our mission to alleviate our state’s current housing crisis. The MBTA Communities Act allows cities and towns to use zoning to meet the growing demands of housing production and create diverse housing opportunities for Massachusetts residents”, said Jesse Kanson- Benanav, Executive Director of Abundant Housing Massachusetts. We applaud MA Attorney General Andrea Campbell and the Healey-Driscoll Administration for their fight for more affordable, abundant housing across Massachusetts. We look forward to continuing work with our partners to bring to life a vision where people can move where they want, when they want, and not when they have to.”
“The SJC made clear that each MBTA community must comply with the law, forcefully rejecting the argument that communities could simply ignore the state’s mandate to permit a “fair share of multifamily housing” near the MBTA stations from which they benefit,” said John Infranca, Contributor to AHMA’s Amicus Brief, Professor of Law & Director of Faculty Scholarship & Research. “Given the thoughtful and thorough process through which the existing guidelines were drafted, I suspect most communities will simply choose to proceed with their existing compliance efforts in the expectation that any new guidelines will not be substantively different.”
Abundant Housing Massachusetts looks forward to partnering with remaining communities to bring to life a vision where everyone has a place they can call home.
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