CommonWealth Beacon reports Milton voters today rejected a plan to rezone the town to allow more housing units, making it the only community served by the MBTA to tell the state to shove its requirement that MBTA-served towns do their part to ease the area housing shortage.
"While we are hopeful that we can work with the town to put forward a new plan that would bring them into compliance with the MBTA Communities Law, at this time they are non-compliant, which means they will begin losing out on significant grant funding from the state," state Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus said in a statement.
Augustus said 175 other cities and towns served by the T have submitted plans that for districts in which developers would be allowed to build more units than they had earlier.
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Comments
Define "undemocratic"
By Kaz
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 11:30am
Democracy happened. It happened at the state level. Milton had its chance to object then and they didn't (their reps voted yes...it was 143-4 in the House and 40-0 in the Senate where Timilty voted Yes).
If the opponents didn't like that, they can complain to their representatives. Democracy.
Or they can vote against it locally
By BostonDog
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:16pm
A direct question put before the voters is the exact definition of a democracy.
This is what the residents of the town want for their community. No one can say it was only a group of loudmouths and/or a politician who doesn't represent the majority.
You don't need to agree with the decision, but it was 100% democratic in ways few other things are. It would be interesting to see if MA voters would approve the law if it was a ballot question. (I give it 50/50 odds at best.)
Fine
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:40pm
Then they can do what they want without the state's money.
Sounds good to me.
You are engaging in spoiled teenager "logic" here - as in "get out of my life, stop bossing me around! You haven't even given me my allowance and how come you didn't buy the snack that I asked for - you are soooo horrible!". Can't have it both ways
Yes
By BostonDog
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:56pm
They lose the money, no question. That is what the state had always said would happen and the voter's made their decision knowingly.
This is what democracy looks like. A majority of Milton voters valued the current zoning over the state funding they would lose.
I’d say the state is acting like the spoiled brat here
By robo
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:58pm
You better do this, or else! Milton said nah, keep your $1.7 million a year in support that ain’t nothing to us.
And again, this is how laws work!
By fungwah
Fri, 02/16/2024 - 7:51am
Yes, that's how laws work, dude! Is your local town acting like a spoiled brat when it tells you you're not allowed to dump trash in the street without being fined, or that you're not allowed to park in a no parking zone without getting your car towed?
I get it
By robo
Fri, 02/16/2024 - 9:44am
It’s not like Boston has ever protested existing laws in the past.
If you're trying to be cute...
By lbb
Fri, 02/16/2024 - 9:56am
...and slyly reference events around the revolution, you should remember that the core issue was that Bostonians had no say in the creating of these laws.
Now wipe that egg off your face.
You're dodging the point
By fungwah
Fri, 02/16/2024 - 3:46pm
Enforcing laws is not "acting like a spoiled brat" or "undemocratic" - it's how the government works. If you think that's a problem, feel free to start your own anarchist collective.
See my other post
By Kaz
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:47pm
Who cares what the voters want in this case? Great, we polled the town's electorate and they want X. But X is illegal, so who cares?
What does that group of voters' desires as obtained by a democratic vote matter? If we poll ANY group of voters, do they get to do whatever they want based on what they decide? Do I get to take a vote in my car to follow traffic laws from now on? If the voters of Boston took a vote to ignore liquor licenses and let every restaurant serve alcohol if it wants to as long as it pays an annual due to the city...do we suddenly get to ignore the state alcohol licensing board?
No, of course not. That vote would be pointless. You don't get to "democratically" ignore laws set by entities bigger/higher than you on the totem pole otherwise it's not a functioning system of government.
It's not illegal
By BostonDog
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 1:06pm
The state law was that communities needed to change their zoning in order to continue getting certain lines of state funds. The voters chose not to change their zoning and now they won't get those funds.
This is different from the 40B law that give developers the right to overturn town zoning if they meet certain requirements. That can't be voted away at a city level.
Attorney General Campbell disagrees with you.
By Pete X
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 1:32pm
https://www.mass.gov/doc/advisory-concerning-enfor...
Shall have
By Ari O
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 2:10pm
Article LX of the ye olde Constitution (ye olde, since it's older than the US Constitution, which was based on it, and basically the oldest in the world since San Marino is basically an asterisk)
The AG could (should) interpret that as "Milton doesn't want to comply with the General Court, there Milton has abrogated its right given to them, and therefore, until Milton complies with the General Court, there is no zoning regulation in Milton." This actually happened in California.
It will be decided in court
By BostonDog
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 2:14pm
What I've read is that the law as written isn't as clear cut as Campbell writes. So it will likely be decided by the courts.
If the judge rules in favor of the state, the Milton vote will be moot.
I don't even understand this "vote"
By Kaz
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 11:08am
"Would you like the city to violate the law? Yes / No"
Like how was that even a legal vote of any kind?
That can't be relevant can it? Like, "hi, officer, the occupants of my car took a special vehicle vote on the issue. Surprisingly it came out 1-0 in favor of the motion and we're not obeying speeding laws any more. 'k, thanks, bye".
Who cares if they took a vote. The law is the law and the town government has to abide by the state law. How did the Town Meeting or Town Clerk or whoever sanctioned this vote not explain that to these "opponents" that their 'forcing' a vote is just wasting everyone's time and the Town Meeting is going to go ahead with the plan it has enacted and/or the State is going to do whatever it wants to enforce the law...like stop giving a shit what Milton Town Meeting wants to do about its own zoning?
This is like the same foot-playing games the Feds are doing with Red States right now. Enforce the fucking laws. There's way too much negotiating with smaller bodies like they have some sovereign right to ignore the laws of the bodies that even allow them to exist in the first place.
They’re challenging the law being legal
By robo
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 11:47am
I bet Milton wins at the end of this TBH. Holden had a similar challenge in court and won. (As Pete X pointed out it wasn’t the state that sued them, but still shows you it’s not cut and dry).
Just because a law exists doesn’t mean it’s legal.
Wrong Again
By Pete X
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:03pm
Holden didn't win the challenge, the suit was thrown out because the judge ruled the plaintiff didn't have standing. It's not the same thing, as I'm sure you know.
I don’t because I’m not a lawyer
By robo
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:14pm
Thrown out and win are synonymous to me in this situation. Holden doesn’t need to do anything.
I ain't a lawyer
By Pete X
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 2:26pm
But I know if a law has been subjected to legal scrutiny in a trial or not. This law has not yet undergone that scrutiny.
Are they though?
By Kaz
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 12:50pm
Ignoring the law isn't "challenging it being legal" it's just acting illegally. Challenging its legality would be to take the state to court. Instead, the Town Meeting agreed to abide by the law and put in place zoning that would do so. It's only this special election bullshit that is now undoing that and putting them back into non-compliance by inactivity...they've agreed to act illegally by vote which the Town Clerk/Town Meeting/whoever runs their town voting should have disallowed in the same way you can't just put whatever ballot question on the state ballot without the DA and the Sec of State signing off on it.
but they are specifically not ignoring the law
By cinnamngrl
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 2:46pm
They are wrong but they are acknowledging very hard.
The Zoning Maps are here
By anon
Thu, 02/15/2024 - 4:00pm
The Zoning Maps are here
https://www.townofmilton.org/DocumentCenter/View/5...
https://www.townofmilton.org/DocumentCenter/View/5...
~~~~~~~
Blue Hills Parkway Corridor Subdistrict - Close to Mattapan Station. Already has a number of two families and a large senior living community apartment building.
East Milton Square Subdistrict - Already very built out, not close to transit stations, traffic is already very heavy. Nearest station is 2 miles away Wollaston Redline station
Granite Avenue South Subdistrict - Has some large lots near wetlands and higway. One of the lots is the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Very low walkabilty and bike score. Road is bumper to bumper. Dorchester neighbors concerned with additional traffic. Nearest station is Cedar Grove trolley which about a mile or more away.
Granite Avenue North Subdistrict - A single parcel of a commercial office building surrounded by wetlands.
Milton/Central Avenue Station Subdistrict - Already being building out without mandate due to demand. These include afforable housing. Milton Station has a staircase that has been closed for years for repair and this is the main entrance to station.
Example: https://www.maloneyaffordable.com/condominiums/hen...
Luxury: https://www.warrenre.com/buildings/50-eliot/
https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2012/06/0...
Eliot Street Corridor Subdistrict
This is on the trolley line and already zoned for two families.
We are NOT all in this
By anon
Fri, 02/16/2024 - 10:17pm
We are NOT all in this together.
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