NEWS ABOUT TOWN MEETING ARTICLE 14 – MBTA COMMUNITIES ACT –3A

At Weston’s upcoming Town Meeting on May 5th, residents will not have the opportunity to vote on the proposed zoning by-law change required for compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. (see https://www.westonma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1106)

There are many passionate views and opinions on the 3A zoning effort. Our goal is not to debate those perspectives now, but to ensure Weston residents understand why the proposed plan was not brought to a vote at Town Meeting — and what the potential consequences could be of missing the State’s July 14, 2025 deadline.

Under Massachusetts law, if the Planning Board votes against a proposal that is not substantially different from one presented at Town Meeting within the past two years, the Article cannot be brought to Town Meeting. At last week’s Planning Board meeting, the Board voted against the current 3A plan that had been created and proposed.. With one vacancy and one member absent, the vote failed 2 to 1, which means that the Article cannot proceed to Town Meeting.

Multiple reasons have been cited for the rejection. Here are the most prominent:

• Not enough time. There was not enough time to put together an alternative plan that works. (The law has been in place since 2021).

• Rejection in December. The plan was defeated at the December Town Meeting. At that time, many residents may have been taking a “wait-and-see” approach, anticipating the SJC ruling in the Milton case. Given the presentation at Town Meeting, it is not clear if residents were voting against the concept of the law, to wait for the Milton case result, or the actual plan that was put forward by the Town.

• Hope for a better plan. The hope mentioned recently is that the Planning Board can create a better plan to present at a future Town Meeting that would reduce opposition and win more support. However, the State has made clear that failure to meet the July 14, 2025 deadline for filing a plan could carry significant consequences, well beyond the statutory penalties, for noncompliant towns.

• Unfunded mandate lawsuit. The Town has filed a lawsuit against the state in hopes of delaying enforcement while the town works on an updated 3A plan, claiming the MBTA Communities Act is an unfunded mandate. Most legal experts have concluded that this argument is unlikely to succeed. An example from Klein Hornig (a law firm that deals with these issues):

  • “In sum, it is our view that the Opinion’s unfunded mandate determination regarding Section 3A is unfounded. By DLM’s own admission, it has not investigated—let alone found evidence of—a necessary element of the unfunded mandate test: costs imposed on a particular municipality by the law in question... The lawsuits inspired by the Opinion are no more likely to succeed than Milton’s ill-fated challenge to Section 3A... MBTA Communities that embrace Section 3A can rest assured that they are saving their constituents significant litigation expenses. And those constituents can be proud that their communities are doing their part to combat the affordable housing crisis.”

Massachusetts 3A Compliance, as of April 30

177 Towns need to comply with the MBTA Communities Act—

123 Towns have already created compliant by-laws
25 Towns need to comply by July-14-2025 (includes Weston)
25 Towns need to comply by Dec-31-2025 (adjacent small towns)
4 towns are not compliant due to missed deadlines (Halifax, Marshfield, Middleton, Milton)

What Comes Next

On Wednesday April 30th, the Select Board sent out a notification to residents, announcing the cancellation of the vote on Article 14. (see link in the first paragraph)

Where Weston Stands

As of now, Weston does not have an approved 3A zoning plan before the State’s July 14 deadline. Without an adopted plan by that date, Weston will be considered non-compliant and could face state sanctions. Although an updated plan is being discussed, there has been no public effort yet to build community support or lay the groundwork for its approval and an updated plan by itself may or may not generate greater support. Meanwhile, the Town’s lawsuit claiming the law is an unfunded mandate has uncertain prospects and may not delay enforcement.

What do you think Weston should do next on this consequential law? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Sincerely, Nancy Piedra, Alice Benson, Tom Timko, Alan Day