by Jenna Connolly | Jul 17, 2025 | Featured News, Housing News
On Tuesday, July 14, Attorney General Andrea Campbell issued a legal advisory informing MBTA Communities of the next steps her office will take to enforce the MBTA Communities Act. Although the final regulatory deadline to adopt compliant zoning has now passed, the Attorney General will defer litigation against non-compliant communities until January 1, 2026. This measured approach provides communities with additional time to complete the local processes required to adopt zoning bylaws by the end of 2025. Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) commends the Attorney General for her commitment to enforcing this essential housing law.
“The MBTA Communities Act is an essential tool for creating the homes that people, our communities, and our economy need to thrive,” said Rachel Heller, CHAPA’s chief executive officer. “We applaud Attorney General Campbell for her commitment to enforcing state housing laws so that all people have opportunities to find homes they can afford in communities they choose. We hope that communities utilize the many resources available to implement the law, including CHAPA’s cost-free technical assistance program.”
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities’ (“HLC”) original MBTA Communities Act regulations required MBTA Communities with, or adjacent to, commuter rail stations to adopt compliant multifamily zoning districts by the end of 2024. The deadline was extended to July 14, 2025. As of today, 15 communities have missed that deadline and will immediately lose eligibility for most competitive state grant funding.
Although MBTA Communities have had nearly five years to create and implement multifamily zoning plans, a period in which 139 communities—the majority—have successfully complied, CHAPA recognizes the utility of providing more time to municipalities that have struggled to implement the law. Given the amount of inflammatory rhetoric surrounding this law, the Attorney General’s advisory turns down the temperature and political pressure and serves as a gesture of goodwill, encouraging residents to design multifamily zoning districts that meet their community’s unique housing needs.
“CHAPA has worked with planners from over 80 municipalities to educate residents about the MBTA Communities Act and all but four of those communities ultimately chose to adopt multifamily zoning districts,” said Will Rhatigan, CHAPA’s MBTA Communities engagement manager. “We’re confident that every municipality can find a multifamily zoning district that satisfies their residents, and we’re ready to offer our cost-free technical assistance with community engagement to any municipality that seeks to reach compliance with the MBTA Communities Act by the end of this year.”
Communities interested in participating in CHAPA’s cost-free technical assistance program for community engagement can reach out to Will Rhatigan at [email protected].
by Will Rhatigan | Jun 6, 2025 | Featured News, Housing News
June 6, 2025 — Today, in yet another victory for the MBTA Communities Act (the “Act”), a Massachusetts Superior Court judge decisively ruled that the Act “does not constitute an unfunded mandate.” In doing so, the Court squarely rejected the State Auditor’s contrary opinion issued earlier this year and dismissed a series of municipal lawsuits citing that opinion. Those suits were always a hail mary—as Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (“CHAPA”) argued in an amicus brief filed by Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”)—and the latest Court ruling slams the door shut on their arguments. Most importantly, the decision re-affirms that all MBTA Communities must do their part to alleviate Massachusetts’ affordable housing shortage by allowing multi-family housing to be built more freely.
CHAPA and LCR celebrate this ruling as a major victory in the mission to create multi-family and reasonably-priced housing opportunities across Massachusetts, and applaud Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s steadfast defense of the Act in these lawsuits and others.
“CHAPA is thrilled that the courts have once again affirmed that the MBTA Communities Act is the law and that communities must comply,” said Rachel Heller, Chief Executive Officer of CHAPA. “Sky-high housing costs are hurting people and our neighborhoods and threaten the health of our economy. Today’s decision makes it clear that every community needs to be part of the solution.”
Although the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that the Act is constitutional and enforceable in Attorney General vs. Town of Milton this January, several communities recently filed lawsuits seeking exemptions from the Act in response to a determination from the State Auditor’s Division of Local Mandates (DLM) that the Act could be an unfunded mandate. Those towns include Duxbury, Hamilton, Hanson, Holden, Marshfield, Middleton, Wenham, Weston, and Wrentham.
As CHAPA and LCR expected, the Court soundly rejected these suits, concluding instead that DLM’s determination was flawed and legally non-binding, and that the Act does not impose any unfunded costs on communities. The court further agreed with our organizations that updating zoning codes and holding town meetings are regular functions of municipal government, meaning that the law’s requirement to adopt multifamily zoning districts does not create additional costs.
The court also rejected all claims that multifamily zoning districts impose infrastructure costs upon communities, concluding that any connection between multifamily zoning and increased costs for services and infrastructure is purely speculative.
“Today’s ruling is a great victory for all Massachusetts residents, but particularly the communities of color and low-income individuals hardest hit by the affordable housing crisis,” said Jacob Love, Senior Attorney at LCR. “Increasing multi-family housing stock is critical to advancing fair housing in the Commonwealth and this decision preserves one of the most important tools we have in the fight for housing equity.”
Like the courts, the majority of MBTA communities have rejected the argument that multi-family homes impose unfair costs. As of May 30th, 75 percent of MBTA Communities have embraced the opportunity to provide more reasonably-priced homes for their residents and adopted multifamily zoning districts intended for compliance with the Act.
CHAPA and LCR are gratified that the courts not only continue to endorse our legal arguments, but also reject all efforts to undermine the Act. While this law is only the first of many steps needed to make homes affordable for everyone in Massachusetts, defending it is crucial to setting the stage for all the other work we intend to do together to build more reasonably-priced homes.
###
Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association (CHAPA) is the leading statewide affordable housing policy organization in Massachusetts. Established in 1967, CHAPA advocates for increased opportunity and expanded access to housing so every person in Massachusetts can have a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home in the communities they choose, free from discrimination. For more information, visit www.chapa.org.
Lawyers for Civil Rights fights discrimination and fosters equity through creative and courageous legal advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. With law firms and community allies, we provide free, life-changing legal support to individuals, families, and small businesses. www.lawyersforcivilrights.org
by Matt Noyes | May 15, 2025 | Housing News
Next week, the Massachusetts Senate will debate the FY2026 state budget. Among the 1058 amendments filed to the Senate Ways and Means proposal last week were several proposals that would roll back, weaken, or delay Chapter 3A – the MBTA Communities Act.
Massachusetts needs 222,000 homes by 2035 to stabilize our rental and homeownership markets. The MBTA Communities Act, passed by the Legislature in 2020 and signed into law in 2021, directs 177 cities and towns to establish multi-family zoning districts in their municipalities. To date, 131 of these communities have submitted compliance proposals to EOHLC, with many more on track to do so.
The MBTA Communities Act is a success. The multi-family zoning districts established through this law will make it possible to create many of the homes we need for Massachusetts to thrive.
The proposals to undermine this success are misguided and will only serve to set the Commonwealth back in its efforts to address our housing needs. In many cases, these are not new amendments – similar, if not identical, proposals have been made and overwhelmingly rejected during the process of developing the Affordable Homes Act, the FY2025 budget, and in the House during its FY2026 budget debate last month.
CHAPA urges the Senate to reject these amendments. If you are able, please contact your state senator and aske them to oppose these proposals:
#12 – Places New Requirements on Cities and Towns to Report on MBTA Communities Act Impact to EOHLC. This reporting would require an analysis of the impacts of housing construction on local infrastructure and schools – information that is not readily available and would be difficult to produce. If passed, this amendment would place a significant strain on scarce municipal resources without a clear benefit.
#13, #140, & #147 – Adds Unnecessary Appeal Criteria to MBTA Communities Act based on factors that are outside the scope of the law, including the availability of water, sewer, and wastewater treatment. The MBTA Communities Act does not require cities and towns to provide these sorts of infrastructure. If passed, these amendments would only delay and complicate the implementation of the law without providing a benefit to municipalities.
#141 & #296 – Narrows Definition of “MBTA Community” to exempt all communities without a rail, subway, or ferry station within its municipality from compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. If passed, it would significantly limit the number of new homes that could be permitted through the law and ignore the good-faith efforts made by nearly four dozen adjacent communities and small towns to comply with the MBTA Communities Act.
#274 & #834 – Limits the Use of Grant Funding to Encourage Compliance with MBTA Communities Act by allowing communities that choose not to do their part to address the Commonwealth’s housing challenges to avoid consequences established by the law, ignoring the good-faith efforts made by 131 communities in choosing to comply.
#297 – Delays Implementation of the MBTA Communities Act by changing the deadlines for municipal compliance. Massachusetts has faced significant housing challenges for years and cannot afford to wait any longer to address them. Given the acuity of our housing challenges, the 131 communities that have met their compliance deadlines and adopted compliant zoning, the extensive engagement and technical assistance provided to cities and towns, and the length of time needed to create the homes we need, this amendment is not only unnecessary but is harmful.
#298 – Exempts Municipalities from Compliance with MBTA Communities Law without Meeting Requirements based on factors outside of the scope of the law, including compliance with 40B and the granting of water withdrawal permits. The law is not about what is on the land now – it is about what will be allowed to be built in the future. To produce homes that people, our communities, and the Commonwealth need, local zoning needs to allow for it.
#839 – Creates A Single-Municipality Exception from MBTA Communities Law Classifications by altering the MBTA Communities Law for the benefit of one community. In creating this carve-out, the amendment goes against the broad stakeholder engagement and public comment process that informed the Law’s implementation and would be unfair to the 176 other communities subject to the Law.
by Will Rhatigan | Apr 14, 2025 | Featured News
April 14, 2025 — Today, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) released final regulations for implementation of the MBTA Communities Act, or Section 3A of M.G.L. Chapter 40A, the state’s Zoning Law. Reflecting the spirit of the previous compliance guidelines, these regulations maintain strong requirements for every MBTA Community to do its part in solving the Commonwealth’s housing shortage.
Signed into law by then-Governor Charlie Baker in 2021, the MBTA Communities Act requires the 177 communities served by or adjacent to the MBTA to designate a district where property owners will have the right to build multifamily housing. Since restrictive zoning codes have been a major barrier to building multifamily housing in Massachusetts for decades, this law is an important step towards ensuring Massachusetts is creating enough homes for our current residents and to keep up with demand. This is critical to stabilizing housing costs and ensuring people have access to homes they can afford in the communities they choose.
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) commends EOHLC for maintaining regulations that present clear, consistent instructions for how all MBTA Communities should create multifamily zoning districts. At present, 119 communities have adopted multifamily districts. CHAPA has supported community engagement efforts in over 70 MBTA communities through our technical assistance program. The consistency in regulations will enable more communities to continue through the compliance process with clarity and confidence.
“Nearly everyone is feeling the pain of high home prices and rents. The MBTA Communities Act, along with the new state laws making it possible to create Accessory Dwelling Units in every community and increasing funding for affordable housing, provide necessary tools for expanding our housing supply so that people can find homes they can afford in the communities they choose,” said Rachel Heller, Chief Executive Officer of CHAPA. “EOHLC’s final regulations reflect the spirit and letter of the law in asking all MBTA communities to allow the homes that people, our neighborhoods, and the Commonwealth need to thrive.”
CHAPA appreciates that the final regulations allow municipalities significant flexibility in deciding where and how they would like to allow property owners to build multifamily housing. While all communities are held accountable for creating opportunities to build new housing, they retain flexibility in deciding the density, height, location, and design standards of any multifamily housing that they allow. This flexibility allows communities to meet the housing needs of the Commonwealth while preserving and adapting to what makes them unique.
“These regulations ensure that all MBTA Communities will create opportunities for teachers, first responders, small business owners, and local employees to find homes in the communities that they serve,” said Lily Linke, Director of Municipal Engagement at CHAPA. “High housing costs are driving young people and public servants out of Massachusetts, and I’m optimistic that implementing the MBTA Communities Act with these regulations will allow more people to feel confident building their lives in our state.”
With nearly 120 communities having adopted MBTA Communities multifamily zoning, we are putting the Commonwealth on track towards achieving the state’s goal of creating 220,000 new homes by 2035 to meet the needs of current and future residents. CHAPA looks forward to continuing to work with EOHLC and local communities to advance policies that will provide everyone in Massachusetts with a safe, accessible, and affordable home in the community of their choice.
###
Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association (CHAPA) is the leading statewide affordable housing policy organization in Massachusetts. Established in 1967, CHAPA advocates for increased opportunity and expanded access to housing so every person in Massachusetts can have a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home in the communities they choose, free from discrimination. For more information, visit www.chapa.org.
by Jenna Connolly | Jan 8, 2025 | Featured News, Housing News
Today, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court released a landmark decision in Attorney General vs. Town of Milton that affirms the responsibility of every MBTA Community under the MBTA Communities Act to zone for multifamily housing. The decision also confirms that the Attorney General has legal standing to enforce the MBTA Communities Act.
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) celebrates this decision as a major victory for housing and a critical step in ensuring that all cities and towns contribute to solving Massachusetts’ decades-long housing shortage by providing more of the types of homes people need for everyone to thrive.
“The decision today is a big win, putting us on the path towards a future where everyone in Massachusetts can find a safe, affordable home in the community they choose,” said Rachel Heller, Chief Executive Officer of Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). “Every city and town has a role to play in addressing the housing shortage, and we’re happy that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has reaffirmed Milton’s and other non-compliant municipalities’ responsibility to be part of the solution. When we say yes to more housing in our communities, like the 116 communities already in compliance have, we are closer to creating the 200,000 homes we need by 2030 and the Massachusetts we all want and deserve.”
Although the MBTA Communities Act directs the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to issue guidelines, the court argues that EOHLC should have promulgated regulations for compliance. CHAPA encourages EOHLC to reissue the current guidelines as emergency regulations that would take immediate effect to avoid confusion for already-compliant communities and prevent delays in creating the housing that Massachusetts desperately needs. These guidelines were developed through a thoughtful process that considered and incorporated over 200 comments from municipalities, advocates, planners, residents, business leaders, and more.
“The Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling that Milton must comply with the MBTA Communities Act is an important step in the fight for fair housing,” said Whitney Demetrius, CHAPA’s Director of Fair Housing and Municipal Engagement. “For too long, communities have used restrictive zoning to prevent the creation of homes affordable to people with low and middle incomes. CHAPA is optimistic that this ruling will allow people of all income levels to find homes in the communities that they choose.”
As of today, 116 municipalities have adopted zoning ordinances that comply with the MBTA Communities Act, a significant majority of all MBTA Communities. CHAPA expects this ruling will motivate communities currently out of compliance to act quickly to abide by the law. If they do not, this ruling suggests that future court decisions will order noncompliant communities to comply with the law and allow multifamily housing development.
The Commonwealth must create at least 200,000 new homes by 2030 to alleviate the shortage and keep pace with demand. Meanwhile, residents in all corners of Massachusetts, at every income level, are struggling with high rents and home prices. The MBTA Communities Act enables multi-family housing creation to help Massachusetts reach this goal and provide more choices to those facing escalating and, too often, unattainable housing costs.
CHAPA congratulates the Attorney General for taking on and winning this essential case and thanks the Healey-Driscoll Administration for supporting communities in the implementation of this law to expand housing opportunities for the people of Massachusetts. CHAPA also thanks Nixon Peabody—Karla Chaffee, in particular—for their work drafting and filing the amicus brief on our behalf along with more than 30 organizations.
