FAQs: MBTA Law
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The MBTA Communities Act was signed into law by then-Gov. Charlie Baker in January 2021. The law was passed unanimously by the Senate and overwhelmingly by the House (143 to 4).
The law is aimed at alleviating Massachusetts’ severe housing crisis by requiring 177 towns served by the MBTA to zone for multi-family housing, primarily in designated areas near commuter rail, subway, and bus stations.
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Twelve communities close to the MBTA were required to comply with the law by December 31, 2023. Those communities include Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Milton, Newton, Quincy, Revere, and Somerville.
All of these communities have complied with the state law by the deadline except Milton.
A YES vote by Milton residents at the upcoming Special Election on February 13 provides the only near-term opportunity for Milton to comply with the law.
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Massachusetts has among the highest home prices and rents of any state in the nation, largely due to an inadequate housing supply. The lack of housing is hurting Massachusetts’ ability to retain and attract new businesses, employees and young families.
These high costs are pricing middle class families out of Massachusetts, preventing older adults from downsizing, creating hiring challenges for companies, and causing many people, particularly younger people, to move to other states where housing is more affordable.
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During the last 18 months, the town has led an extensive public engagement process to seek input on complying with the law.
There have been eight public forums, 28 Planning Board meetings, mailings to every Milton household, an information table at the Milton Farmers Market, comprehensive details on the Town of Milton’s website, and two nights of debate at Town Meeting, among others.
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• A NO vote will result in Milton violating the law.
• Governor Maura Healey stated that communities that do not comply with the law will suffer a loss of state funding “for any number of programs that you’re used to receiving money for. That includes for schools, it includes for roads and bridges, it includes for a whole host of things that are important to communities.”
• The Attorney General has stated that communities that fail to comply with the law risk civil enforcement action 1 that could result in having the courts determine Milton’s zoning without our input.
• “All MBTA Communities must comply with the Law,” according to the state Attorney General, who also emphasizes, “MBTA Communities cannot avoid their obligations under the Law” by forgoing these state funding programs.
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• The law does not require new multi-family units to be built. The law only requires designated areas to be zoned for multi-family units.
• Because of Milton’s MBTA classification, the law requires Milton to zone for 2,461 multi-family units, of which 50 percent must be within .5 miles of transit.
• The actual number of new multi-family units to be zoned will be 1,764 because several hundred multi-family units have already been approved in the Trolley Corridor and would be eligible to count toward Milton’s overall requirement.
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• The Select Board asked state officials (at the MBTA and Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities EOHLC) to justify why we are classified as a rapid transit community:
“the significant differences in service, infrastructure, and equipment demonstrate that the Mattapan trolley line is not equivalent to the rapid transit lines, and that its previous classification as not being rapid transit should be restored.”
• The Planning Board asked the MBTA for Milton to be reclassified as an “adjacent community” and EOHLC for a deadline extension.
• Milton Town Counsel provided a legal opinion concerning the authority of EOHLC to promulgate and enforce guidelines relating to the MBTA Communities Law.
• The state rejected all of Milton’s requests for reclassification (to both MBTA and EOHLC) and deadline extension (to EOHLC).
FAQs: Opportunity
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• Increasing the breadth of housing options will provide older adults with more options if they wish to downsize and continue to live in Milton.
• Increasing our supply of smaller units—such as duplexes, townhouses, apartments, and condos—will help moderate prices and make home ownership more affordable for middle class families, young professionals, and town employees, including teachers and first responders.
• Additional housing will result in additional tax revenue to the Town. (An RKG study projected more than $1 million of new net revenue annually to the town at full build of proposal.)
• Requiring mixed residential and commercial use development in Milton’s business districts will promote small business development, expand our commercial tax base, and strengthen our local economy.
• Clustering multi-family zoning in walkable districts near businesses and public transportation will preserve green space and lower Milton’s carbon emissions.
• Milton’s lack of compliance with state housing requirements has made the town susceptible to 40B developments. By proactively complying with the law, Milton will regain and maintain a degree of local control.
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• The law only requires 50 percent of the proposed area to be within a half-mile of transit. The law also requires each zoned area to be at least five acres in size.
• East Milton Square was included in the zoning because it is a walkable business district and there are existing multifamily homes in East Milton that will count toward the number of zoned units.
• The Granite Ave parcels were included because they are undeveloped areas that could support multi-family housing. The Granite Ave parcel closest to Boston is within a half mile of the Cedar Grove Trolley Station.
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• The Heritage Hall and Mass Highway properties are currently not for sale.
• If both properties became available today, they could be developed under 40B authority with higher density and without any input from the Town or neighbors. That is because Milton has not met the state requirement to have 10 percent of our housing designated as affordable.
• Under the zoning proposal, if both properties became available, they could be developed into a multi-family housing neighborhood with 530 units in varied buildings with height restricted to 4.5 stories.
• The neighborhood would include internal streets and small retail spaces. Forty percent of the neighborhood would be reserved for open space and playgrounds.
• All projects that are proposed under the new zoning will be subject to site plan review that include abutter notification and a public hearing. The Town’s Planning Board will be able to place conditions on projects to mitigate traffic, stormwater, design, and other impacts.
• Under the new zoning, the town would have the opportunity to leverage a redesign of Granite Ave prior to its development. For example, the Town could require a developer to install traffic lights and crosswalks for safety, a median with planted trees, and space for pedestrian and bike paths. However, if the Granite Ave properties were developed under 40B, the town would have no such authority.
FAQs: Neighborhoods
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Town elected officials worked with staff from the Milton Department of Planning and Community Development and professional consultants to create and refine a zoning plan that complied with the law and was approved by a two-third majority of Town Meeting Members in December 2023.
The areas include Mattapan Station, Blue Hills Parkway, the Eliot Street Corridor, Lower Mills/Milton Station, East Milton Square, and a portion of Granite Ave bordering Boston.
Impact Analysis (Like Map on Page 4)
The Trolley Corridor (running from Mattapan to Lower Mills/Milton Station) represents 57% of the zoned units (1,501) in the plan.
East Milton Square and the northern part of Granite Ave represents 43% of the zoned units (1,124) in the plan.
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• The majority of Milton’s traffic problems are due to our geographic location as the town is surrounded by highways on almost all sides of town.
• During morning and afternoon commutes, Milton’s roads become congested with cut through traffic from other communities.
• Technology has only added to the problem in recent years as multiple Apps (Waze, Google Maps, etc) redirect commuters from the Expressway and Routes 128, 138, and 28 through Milton’s main roads and side streets to save a few minutes.
• Gradually adding new housing units across town over multiple years will not have a measurable impact as Milton’s traffic problem is largely related to cut through traffic rather than internally generated.
• Complying with the state law may provide a strong opportunity for Milton to work with the state to help address our traffic challenges.
• New traffic signals, redesign of on-ramps and off ramps, and other infrastructure improvements on state-owned roads are essential to mitigating traffic impacts in Milton.
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• RKG examined the impact of a full build out of the proposed zoning and found that it would add 265 school aged children to the district
• As a full build out would occur gradually over a 20-year period, the number of school aged children entering the district can be estimated to approximately 13 students (265/20) per year.
• Milton School Superintendent Peter Burrows said during the December 4 th session of town meeting, “We don’t believe that the numbers would significantly impact” the ability to educate new students in Milton.
• The new school building project will make available approximately 499 spaces in the existing elementary schools, allowing the schools to accommodate the additional number of school aged children.
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The range of Milton’s home prices will expand with additional multi-family housing. However, it is unlikely that the value of single family homes, which make up 78% of Milton's housing, will change given the town's proximity to Boston, outstanding public school, and excellent quality of life.
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• The law only requires 50 percent of the proposed area to be within a half-mile of transit. The law also requires each zoned area to be at least five acres in size.
• East Milton Square was included in the zoning because it is a walkable business district and there are existing multifamily homes in East Milton that will count toward the number of zoned units.
• The Granite Ave parcels were included because they are undeveloped areas that could support multi-family housing. The Granite Ave parcel closest to Boston is within a half mile of the Cedar Grove Trolley Station.
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• The Heritage Hall and Mass Highway properties are currently not for sale.
• If both properties became available today, they could be developed under 40B authority with higher density and without any input from the Town or neighbors. That is because Milton has not met the state requirement to have 10 percent of our housing designated as affordable.
• Under the zoning proposal, if both properties became available, they could be developed into a multi-family housing neighborhood with 530 units in varied buildings with height restricted to 4.5 stories.
• The neighborhood would include internal streets and small retail spaces. Forty percent of the neighborhood would be reserved for open space and playgrounds.
• All projects that are proposed under the new zoning will be subject to site plan review that include abutter notification and a public hearing. The Town’s Planning Board will be able to place conditions on projects to mitigate traffic, stormwater, design, and other impacts.
• Under the new zoning, the town would have the opportunity to leverage a redesign of Granite Ave prior to its development. For example, the Town could require a developer to install traffic lights and crosswalks for safety, a median with planted trees, and space for pedestrian and bike paths. However, if the Granite Ave properties were developed under 40B, the town would have no such authority.
FAQs: Business
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• The law only requires 50 percent of the proposed area to be within a half-mile of transit. The law also requires each zoned area to be at least five acres in size.
• East Milton Square was included in the zoning because it is a walkable business district and there are existing multifamily homes in East Milton that will count toward the number of zoned units.
• The Granite Ave parcels were included because they are undeveloped areas that could support multi-family housing. The Granite Ave parcel closest to Boston is within a half mile of the Cedar Grove Trolley Station.
-
• The Heritage Hall and Mass Highway properties are currently not for sale.
• If both properties became available today, they could be developed under 40B authority with higher density and without any input from the Town or neighbors. That is because Milton has not met the state requirement to have 10 percent of our housing designated as affordable.
• Under the zoning proposal, if both properties became available, they could be developed into a multi-family housing neighborhood with 530 units in varied buildings with height restricted to 4.5 stories.
• The neighborhood would include internal streets and small retail spaces. Forty percent of the neighborhood would be reserved for open space and playgrounds.
• All projects that are proposed under the new zoning will be subject to site plan review that include abutter notification and a public hearing. The Town’s Planning Board will be able to place conditions on projects to mitigate traffic, stormwater, design, and other impacts.
• Under the new zoning, the town would have the opportunity to leverage a redesign of Granite Ave prior to its development. For example, the Town could require a developer to install traffic lights and crosswalks for safety, a median with planted trees, and space for pedestrian and bike paths. However, if the Granite Ave properties were developed under 40B, the town would have no such authority.
FAQs: Local Control
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• A NO vote will result in Milton violating the law.
• Governor Maura Healey stated that communities that do not comply with the law will suffer a loss of state funding “for any number of programs that you’re used to receiving money for. That includes for schools, it includes for roads and bridges, it includes for a whole host of things that are important to communities.”
• The Attorney General has stated that communities that fail to comply with the law risk civil enforcement action that could result in having the courts determine Milton’s zoning without our input.
• “All MBTA Communities must comply with the Law,” according to the state Attorney General, who also emphasizes, “MBTA Communities cannot avoid their obligations under the Law” by forgoing these state funding programs.
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The Planning Board can amend the proposal in the future. Any change would be discussed in public Planning Board meetings before being presented to the Select Board, Warrant Committee, and Town Meeting.
FAQs: Taxpayers
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According to RKG, professional consultants used by Milton’s Planning Board, the new zoning would result in an estimated net additional tax revenue (gross property taxes minus municipal and school costs) of more than $1 million per year at full build out. Without full buildout, revenue is less but, importantly, it is not predicted to be a drain on Milton’s finances.
FAQs: State Funding
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• A NO vote will result in Milton violating the law.
• Governor Maura Healey stated that communities that do not comply with the law will suffer a loss of state funding “for any number of programs that you’re used to receiving money for. That includes for schools, it includes for roads and bridges, it includes for a whole host of things that are important to communities.”
• The Attorney General has stated that communities that fail to comply with the law risk civil enforcement action 1 that could result in having the courts determine Milton’s zoning without our input.
• “All MBTA Communities must comply with the Law,” according to the state Attorney General, who also emphasizes, “MBTA Communities cannot avoid their obligations under the Law” by forgoing these state funding programs.