This morning, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell discussed Marblehead’s vote to reject the MBTA Communities Act and new multifamily zoning during an appearance on WGBH Radio.
“Obviously I was disappointed to see that result, I know it was a close one,” Campbell said. Tuesday’s vote was 3,642 to 3,297.
“I would push the town to continue to think about what happened yesterday and then I’ll circle back,” Campbell said. “We’ve always wanted to work in collaboration with communities, not bring a hammer to every situation… but I also have a responsibility to enforce the law. So, we’ll evaluate and review the situation and go from there.”
Campbell added: “We continue to work with municipalities to make it crystal clear to them that the MBTA Communities Law is mandatory and it is not an unfunded mandate. The courts have made that crystal clear.”
The Attorney General’s Office told the Current today that if towns don’t comply with the law, it will take appropriate action and added that it cannot comment on potential future litigation.
When the AG’s Office sued the town of Milton for noncompliance, it filed injunctions compelling the town to comply or face fines. The AG also threatened to appoint a “special master to propose a zoning by-law that complies with” 3A.
State Rep. Jenny Armini, who lives in Marblehead, said “I am very concerned about the loss of discretionary grants for the town especially in light of what we’re seeing happening in Washington and the impact that that is going to have on our ability to tap into any federal resources.”
Armini continued: “We are constricting our ability, short of going to the town’s taxpayers, to address any major improvements or fixes we need in town. It’s never a good time to cut off any access to grant funding but now is an especially bad time. I’m very concerned about infrastructure grants. I look at the harbor and I look at the causeway and I wonder how in God’s name we as a community can pay for the type of infrastructure needed to protect ourselves.
“This keeps me up at night,” she said.
The Select Board meets Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Abbot Hall. The 3A vote is not the agenda but may be addressed during public comment.
Read more about Tuesday night’s vote HERE.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.
