Attorney general issues warning to Milton. Will voters listen?

MILTON – Attorney General Andrea Campbell says the town will face the consequences if it fails to comply with the MBTA Communities Act.

Town meeting on Dec. 11 passed zoning changes that would allow the construction of multifamily housing in some areas of town, many within a half-mile of stops on the trolley line, a plan meeting the law's requirements.

A group of residents collected 3,000 signatures in a week to put the question to the voters, who can either accept or reject town meeting's decision. The decision will be made at a Feb. 13 special election.

"The law is crystal clear as to whether municipalities must comply: They must," Campbell wrote in a Jan. 9 letter to the town's select board and Town Administrator Nicholas Milano.

Milton is the only one of the 12 so-called rapid transit communities which did not comply with requirement to have an approved plan to submit to the state by Dec. 31. The group includes Quincy and Braintree.

The so-called commuter rail communities, which include many communities south of Boston, have until this Dec. 31 to submit their plans for similar zoning changes to the state. More than 100 communities are subject to the law, Campbell wrote.

"Milton's eligibility for a wide variety of state funds will be impacted if the town rejects compliance with the MBTA Communities Act," the attorney general wrote.

Campbell said her office's "strong preference is for cooperation and collaboration, within the bounds of the law."

"Should the Town of Milton chart a course in contradiction of state law, however, the attorney general's office will carry out its responsibility to enforce the law, without hesitation," she said in the letter.

At Tuesday night's select board meeting, Town Counsel Peter Mello was asked his opinion on the letter.

"It's a diplomatic threat of legal action," Mello replied.

Select board member Roxanne Musto said she hopes the town can go to the attorney general's office and work with them on compliance. She said the town is misclassified as a rapid transit community, since ridership of the Mattapan trolley line, which runs through Milton, is much lower.

"There are a lot of other municipalities that are watching what happens here," Musto said.

Select board member Benjamin Zoll said voters have "a clear and obvious choice."

"The town has an obligation to follow the law," he said.

Otherwise, it will face a loss of revenue, lawsuits and the possibility of court-drawn zoning maps, Zoll said.

Select board member Richard Wells noted that opponents of the plan feel they are not being treated fairly, since much of the areas that would be zoned for multifamily development are in East Milton. He said the potential for 500 new units of housing on Granite Avenue is "crazy." He said the plan adopted by town meeting needs to be refined.

Select board member Erin Bradley said she wants to make sure voters "are well aware of the consequences" of a no vote.

Select board Chair Michael Zullas said the board's responsibility is to tell voters what the consequences would be if the town does not comply with the law.

"It will be a big mess if there is a no vote," Zullas said.

Milano will compile a list of grants that would be jeopardized if the town rejects the town meeting vote.

Opponents of the zoning changes adopted by town meeting say the areas for multifamily development should be more fairly distributed around town.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Warning to Milton on failure to comply with MBTA zoning