Marshfield tells court MBTA Communities law forced costly compliance; Commonwealth calls costs incidental

Attorney Robert Galvin told the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that the MBTA Communities Act compelled the Town of Marshfield to adopt a multifamily housing district and that implementing the statute and its implementing guidelines imposed substantial, non-incidental costs on the town.

"There were 22 pages of guidelines promulgated," Galvin said, explaining Marshfield hired an additional planner, developed technical modeling, and engaged repeatedly with the state’s housing and livable communities staff to identify feasible locations, sizes and densities for a compliant district. "We had to incur expense associated with that," he said.

The Commonwealth disagreed. "As a matter of law, the MBTA Communities Act does not impose anything beyond an incidental administration expense on Marshfield or any other community," Esme Caramelo, counsel for the Commonwealth, told the court. Caramelo said the statute requires communities to have zoning that permits multifamily housing as of right and that the steps to establish a compliant zone are generally limited and administrative.

Why the case matters: the court must decide whether the statute creates a direct, compensable local cost under the state’s…