MBTA Communities law faces another big test with Milton referendum
Source: bizjournals.com
Housing advocates celebrated a few weeks ago when all 12 cities and towns with a 2023 deadline adopted zoning to meet their obligations under the MBTA Communities law. But the changes in one of those towns are now in doubt again.
Opponents of the rezoning in Milton collected enough signatures to bring the approval of the proposal to a town-wide referendum, to be held Feb. 13. About two-thirds of the members of Milton’s Town Meeting voted in favor of the overhaul on Dec. 11.
The changes are meant to fulfill the goal of the MBTA Communities law to spur the production of more apartment and condo buildings near public transit. Milton has zoned for more multifamily development to be allowed as of right along the Mattapan trolley line in the northern part of town, as well as on Granite Avenue and in East Milton Square. Milton had to zone for at least 2,461 units, though that doesn't mean that number must be built.
In recent weeks, campaigns both for and against the rezoning have kicked into gear, with volunteers knocking on doors and making phone calls. The sides are trading many of the same arguments lobbed back and forth before the Town Meeting vote. The referendum is the first for an MBTA Communities plan, subjecting the rezoning to a town-wide vote. Should the opponents emerge successful, rezoning skeptics in the 130 municipalities required to adopt zoning by the end of 2024 will likely take note.
An opposition group calling itself Residents for Thoughtful Zoning contends that the rezoning will worsen traffic in Milton and that the effects on infrastructure have not been taken into account. Their members also take issue with the level of development that would be allowed in East Milton, away from the trolley line.
“This can be better and should be better,” said Denny Swenson, a former Milton Planning Board member and a leader of the group calling on residents to “vote no on Question 1.”
Opponents know the town must comply with the law, but they want to give officials time to come up with another plan, even though the Dec. 31 deadline for Milton has passed, according to Swenson. She argued that the potential loss of participation in a few state funding programs was worth taking more time to come up with the right zoning.
On its website, the group contends that the Mattapan trolley is not “rapid transit,” so Milton should be reclassified to another category that would require it to zone for significantly fewer units. Members of the town’s select and planning boards made the same argument to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities last fall, but the agency responded that Milton will remain in the rapid transit category.
Supporters of the rezoning have mounted a campaign called Yes! For Milton, holding that the plan ultimately adopted by a substantial majority of Town Meeting members was the result of a year and a half of work and compromise, and that the town should play its part in helping to alleviate the state’s housing crisis.
“I am very confident in our position, and I am very confident that the people of Milton will agree with us,” Yes! For Milton co-chair Liz Dillon said.
Dillon called the consequences of not complying with the law serious. In addition to the potential loss of state funding, Attorney General Andrea Campbell has said municipalities could face legal action.
“If we don’t comply with the law, we will be forced to comply. I do believe that,” Dillon said.
The deadline to bring a referendum to the ballot in Newton, another “rapid transit” community under MBTA Communities, has passed. Residents in that city had at one point threatened to gather signatures for a referendum, but the City Council ended up adopting a more conservative plan than the one that had first been proposed.
