The Saga of the MBTA Communities Act Continues

Knowledgeable readers will recall that in February, the State Auditor’s Division of Local Mandates issued an opinion that G.L. c. 40A, § 3A, the MBTA Communities Act, constituted an unfunded mandate under G.L. c.29, § 27C. The Town of Duxbury along with eight other municipalities sued for a declaratory judgment that the Act and regulations constituted an unfunded mandate and sought injunctive relief against enforcement. Town of Duxbury v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, C.A. No. 2583CV00303 (Plymouth Super. Ct.) 

On June 6, 2025, Justice Mark Gildea of the Plymouth Superior Court in a case that consolidated all challenges to 3A, issued a 40-page decision in which he determined that the law is not an unfunded mandate, denied injunctive relief and dismissed the lawsuits. He held that the law did not impose any direct costs on the municipalities, as required to be an unfunded mandate, and that even if there were, those costs were speculative. In so ruling, Judge Gildea stated that the opinion of the Division of Local Mandates was not entitled to deference when its opinion is flawed as a matter of law, which he found it was in this instance. Finally, the municipalities had pointed to the likely need for infrastructure improvements necessitated by substantial development in the new zoning districts, but the court noted that the state provides grants for infrastructure improvements when those municipalities comply with the Act. 

Judgment entered on June 9th. As of this writing, no municipality has filed notice of an appeal.