The controversial MBTA Communities Act is a constitutional law that the attorney general can enforce with legal action, but the measure is “ineffective” until the Healey administration takes another pass at crafting regulations, the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday.
In a 23-page decision with implications for state efforts to influence housing affordability by facilitating more housing production, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled the 2021 zoning reform law does not run afoul of the state Constitution and that Attorney General Andrea Campbell is allowed to sue cities and towns that fail to comply.However, the court found that the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities did not follow state law when promulgating relevant guidelines, rendering them “presently unenforceable.”
Gov. Maura Healey and her deputies praised the decision upholding the law, and said they would move to craft new emergency regulations by the end of the week to plug the gap opened up by the ruling. Campbell, who sought to enforce the law against Milton and also defended its constitutionality in court, called the decision “a resounding victory for the Commonwealth and a major step forward in our work to address the unacceptably high cost of housing for our residents.”…