Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today filed a lawsuit against the town of Marblehead (and eight other communities) for its noncompliance with the MBTA Communities Law, which requires communities to zone for more multifamily housing. The other eight communities are: Dracut, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Holden, Middleton, Tewksbury, Wilmington and Winthrop.
“Massachusetts has a housing crisis, and our Commonwealth is unaffordable. The vast majority of MBTA Communities deeply understand that developing more multifamily housing will improve our ability to attract businesses, retain our families and residents and ensure that Massachusetts remains the greatest state in the country to live, start a family and work,” said Campbell. “While bringing a lawsuit is never my first choice, courts have consistently ruled that compliance with this law is mandatory, and the urgency of our housing shortage compels me to act to ensure that all MBTA Communities meet their legal responsibilities. My office remains ready to assist any town working to come into compliance with the law.”
Just days ago, Marblehead submitted a new 3A plan that rezones the Tedesco Country Club and golf course for multifamily housing, along with Broughton Road, which is already zoned for multifamily. The town has been working with a state-funded consultant on the new plan. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities flagged six “technical” elements of the plan, which the town has since addressed.
“My hope is that they’ll work with us,” Select Board Chair Dan Fox told the Current about the AG’s office.
“When the majority of the town decided not to pass 3A (in a July referendum) the leaders of the town knew this was coming,” he added.
Voters will vote the new 3A plan at Town Meeting this May.
“It’s in everyone’s best interests for Marblehead to pass its own plan,” Fox said. The AG is “filing this suit so that if we don’t pass it, they have the availability to enforce a plan on us. I would much rather that Marbleheaders chose how this moves forward. We’ll continue to work towards Town Meeting.”
Under the MBTA Communities Law, Marblehead is required to zone for 897 housing units. The law does not require that those units actually be built.
According to the AG’s press release, “AG Campbell seeks a court order declaring that each community must create a zoning district that complies with section 3A and submit a district compliance application to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities… The law gives cities and towns considerable discretion over the location and size of the new zoning district.”
The release adds: “To date, 165 out of 177 MBTA Communities have come into compliance. Recent data shows that the law has already sparked projects to create nearly 7,000 more homes across 34 communities. Each of the nine communities named in the lawsuit were required to have compliant zoning districts by July 14, 2025, but failed to do so, despite a decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Attorney General v. Milton that reaffirmed the constitutionality of the MBTA Communities Law and made clear that towns’ compliance is mandatory. In July 2025, AG Campbell issued an advisory to communities that had not yet come into compliance with the law, indicating that her office was prepared to bring enforcement action against noncompliant communities in January 2026, marking five years since the law was signed.”
This is a developing story. Stay with the Current.
