A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the town of Holden over its decision not to comply with a state law meant to increase the housing supply in communities served by the MBTA.
The lawsuit, filed in August by the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance and two local residents, claimed that by not following the 2021 MBTA Communities Act, Holden was exacerbating the regional housing shortage.
However, last week, Judge Daniel Wrenn wrote in a decision that the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate the harm Holden’s noncompliance had caused.
“The complaint makes clear that CMHA and (Westborough resident Lydiana) Morales are overburdened by a lack of affordable housing in Massachusetts,” Wrenn wrote in his decision. “But the complaint contains no allegations connecting the town’s failure to comply with (the law) to any harm or injury specific to CMHA and Morales.
Rather, CMHA and Morales allege a general, indirect harm that they, like many other individuals and organizations across Massachusetts, suffer from the lack of affordable housing in the state.”
The MBTA Communities Act requires cities and towns served by the transit agency have at least one zoning district “of reasonable size” where multi-family housing is allowed within a half-mile of a commuter rail, subway or bus station or ferry terminal. While Holden does not contain any transit stations, it borders Worcester, which does, so it is still subject to the law.
The 177 municipalities affected by the law were required to submit an action plan to the state in January. Holden failed to do so. Town officials have since said they will not follow the law, leaving them ineligible for certain state funding opportunities.
Town Manager Peter Lukes said in a statement Monday that the town has not yet decided whether it will follow the law.
“We have received dozens of calls from municipal leaders and concerned residents from across the state regarding participation in the MBTA Communities program,” he said. “We have not been able to respond due to the pending litigation, but now that it is resolved at this stage, Holden is prepared to advise other municipalities of our stand and share our legal rationale behind these decisions.
In the lawsuit, which named the town, its Board of Selectmen, and Lukes as defendants, CMHA alleged that Holden’s noncompliance led to strained resources at the organization, impairing its ability to follow its mission.
Morales said in the lawsuit that she and her child left their Worcester apartment in October 2022 because she could not afford the rent, and moved into a shelter in Westborough. She had been unable to find affordable housing since then, and said Holden’s decision not to allow more housing to be built made her search harder.
Holden homeowner Jennifer Lish, the other plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that the town’s decision not to comply hurt her and other residents because they would lose out on the benefits of programs which the town would no longer be able to access.
Since the filing of the lawsuit, the state has increased the penalties for communities which do not follow the law, adding a variety of new grant programs to the list which those communities will be ineligible for.
Wrenn wrote in his decision that Morales had experienced only a general harm, and that Holden was only one of many towns where she would consider living.
While Lish is a Holden resident, Wrenn wrote that her concerns that residents of the town would miss out on “grant eligibility, increased housing infrastructure, a larger and more diverse population and a greater tax base” were similarly a general harm, not a specific injury to Lish.
Lukes called the dismissal “a huge win” for Holden.
“The CMHA sent out press releases to every media outlet in the state over a week prior to the town receiving notice that the action was even filed in the court. It appeared that the entire purpose of this frivolous lawsuit was to intimidate and embarrass Holden through the CMHA’s false narrative,” he said. “We were clearly not intimidated and frankly the only people who should be embarrassed are the ones who brought this inappropriate legal action and wasted everyone’s time.”
Lawyers for Civil Rights, which was representing CMHA in the lawsuit, said in a statement that they expect to appeal Wrenn’s decision.
“We are disappointed with the judge’s decision to dismiss the case on purely procedural grounds,” they said. “In the meantime, as the case proceeds, Holden is still required to comply with the law.”
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