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Gregory Sampson was quoted in the article, "It’s Massachusetts v. Milton in a Key Test of State’s Ambitious New Housing Law," published by The Boston Globe [sub. req'd] on February 27, 2024.

The article discusses a lawsuit by Attorney General Andrea Campbell in which she sued the Town of Milton for not complying with a controversial new zoning law after voters rejected a plan for 2,400 new homes. She seeks a judge's affirmation that the 2021 MBTA Communities Act is mandatory and to give a deadline for Milton to pass a new zoning plan. If not, she asks for multifamily housing rights, fines, or appointing someone to draft zoning that does comply.

At the suit’s core, the state’s top lawyer is asking a judge to confirm Beacon Hill’s authority to override the state’s long history of local control over zoning, giving it the potential to represent a defining moment for Massachusetts' most ambitious housing law in decades.

Despite Massachusetts’ long tradition of municipalities writing their own zoning rules, such power ultimately resides with the state, comments Greg.

“The best [Milton] could probably hope for is some flexibility with the schedule,” adds Greg, who is also the chair of the Melrose Planning Board. “Yes we have a strong history of home rule in Massachusetts, but the state has always been involved in local zoning.”

Milton could attempt to raise questions about whether rules written by the state housing office to implement the law were too aggressive. Still, Greg says, MBTA Communities specifically directs the housing office to write guidelines, so a judge is likely to give significant deference on that issue.