"The MBTA Communities Act, signed by former Gov. Charlie Baker in 2021, has been described by housing researchers and activists as "historic," an official with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), the state agency responsible with overseeing the law, told Boston.com. But the law has also faced fierce pushback from residents and towns across the state. Opponents say the law is overstepping, but proponents say the law is needed to address the state's housing crisis."
"In early January 2025, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld that the controversial law is constitutional and confirmed that Attorney General Andrea Campbell can sue towns for not complying. However, the ruling also found the state's guidelines were " unenforceable," and required new emergency regulations to be issued. The EOHLC filed emergency regulations on Jan. 14, allowing communities that missed their end-of-2023 and 2024 deadlines extra time to comply with the law."
The MBTA Communities Act, enacted in 2021, requires communities near MBTA transit to permit denser housing through zoning and planning changes. The law aims to increase housing supply near transit and assigns oversight to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC). The Supreme Judicial Court upheld the law’s constitutionality in January 2025 and affirmed the attorney general’s ability to sue noncompliant towns, while finding prior state guidelines unenforceable. The EOHLC issued emergency regulations on Jan. 14 providing extra time for missed deadlines and setting requirements for action plans by Feb. 13 and district compliance applications by July 14. An interactive map shows town obligations and compliance status.
Read at Boston.com
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