MBTA Litigation

Attorney Jonathan Murray of KP Law, the town’s legal counsel, will draft an amicus brief, also known as a “friend of the court,’’ supporting the Town of Milton in a lawsuit filed by the state, all five select board members agreed at their April 29 meeting. The state is suing over Milton’s refusal to submit a plan to meet the required zoning changes.

“This creates market rate, normally expensive, housing. It does not allow for the government to promote or cater to the vulnerable populations who need additional housing opportunities like veterans, the disabled, the elderly or the poor. This is simply a developers’ buffet supported by no compelling or permissible government objective.”

The state, attorneys for Milton wrote, dramatically overstepped with MBTA Communities, which requires cities and towns served by the T to zone for more multifamily housing. If Milton’s argument prevails, it could have huge implications for the most ambitious housing law Massachusetts has enacted in decades.

‘Everyone came together and just pushed forward on this — it’s something that voters don’t want shoved down their throats, there’s no question about it. ”The constitutionality of the zoning law is a concern for citizens groups who argue that it interferes with the state’s Home Rule amendment that mandates municipalities have the power to decide their own zoning regulations.

“It’s a win for a lot of municipalities that don't want to get the heavy-handedness from the commonwealth,”