SJC's 3A ruling has little impact on city, some say
By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer | Gloucester Daily Times
Jan 10, 2025
Some say the state Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling Wednesday has not changed the need for Gloucester to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, designed to address the housing crunch in Massachusetts cities that have the benefit of public transportation.
The decision comes as the city faces a vote on its MBTA multifamily zoning ordinance in light of a citizens petition that forced its suspension and put the city out of compliance with the law until the vote.
“I’ve always said I’d comply with state law,” Mayor Greg Verga said in an email to the Times, “and the SJC’s decision underscores that the state 40A/3A zoning act is mandatory — compliance is not optional.
“Our Planning Board, city staff, and City Council worked hard to create a practical and reasonable zoning proposal,” he said, “and I appreciate their work. While I respect the referendum process — it is frustrating that, despite this clear ruling, we must now spend nearly $30,000 for an election to address an issue where the law has been confirmed by the courts. I understand this issue stirs emotions, but I’m committed to educating our community about the zoning requirements and ensuring we return to compliance.”
At its Tuesday meeting, the council will consider a proposal to hold the special election on the zoning ordinance on April 24, with a vote setting the election date to be held Jan. 28, City Council President Tony Gross said.
The MBTA Communities Act, also known as Section 3A, calls for MBTA communities to adopt zoning to provide for by-right multi-family housing near transit stops in an attempt to alleviate the state’s housing crisis.
State Attorney General Andrea Campbell sued Milton in February after residents voted down zoning that would have brought the town into compliance.
The Supreme Judicial Court was asked to determine whether the law and its guidelines were constitutional and whether the AG can sue to enforce it. The court concluded the act was constitutional and Campbell “has the power to enforce it.”
But, because the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities failed to comply with state’s Administrative Procedure Act when promulgating the guidelines, the judges deemed them “ineffective.” The court ruled the guidelines must be “repromulgated.”
A statement Wednesday from Gov. Maura Healey said: “The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities is committed to the continued and full implementation of the law and prepared to file emergency regulations by the end of this week, consistent with the court’s decision. The emergency regulations will be effective immediately upon filing.”
In October, after months of meetings, public forums and public hearings, the City Council, by a 7-0 vote with two recusals, approved a Multi-family Overlay District creating several swaths downtown where three-family housing would be allowed by right. The ordinance created a smaller subdistrict near the West Gloucester train station, and two small subdistricts on Maplewood Avenue and School House Road that allow for denser development with affordable housing.
The city was seeking to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to comply with the law or face becoming ineligible to apply for certain state grants.
But former Ward 2 City Councilor Tracy O’Neil and others believed residents should have more of a say on the zoning ordinance. They used a provision of the City Charter and gathered more than enough signatures to suspend the new zoning, calling on the City Council to rescind the measure, which it didn’t, or send it to a vote, which it is going to do.
“This is great news for Gloucester,” Deanna Fay of Housing for All Gloucester said in an email about the SJC’s decision. “This confirms what we’ve been saying all along, that 3A is not optional and that every MBTA community, including Gloucester, has to adopt their own, tailored multi-family overlay district, just as we did here in Gloucester last October.”
Councilor at-Large Jason Grow, who chairs the council’s Planning and Development subcommittee that worked with the Planning Board on the zoning ordinance, said no one expects substantial changes to the regulations.
“I don’t see any changes at all for us,” he said.
The council’s job was to get the city into compliance. The zoning ordinance was crafted to have minimal impact on creating more housing. If this zoning ordinance is voted down, Grow said, the City Council will have to come up with different plan to bring the city into compliance.
“We are not going to end up this year in violation of the law,” he said.
The ruling makes two things clear: that the MBTA communities Act is constitutional, and the AG has a right to enforce it, former Planning Board Chair Jack Clarke said.
“One way or another,” he said, “Gloucester will have to comply.”