Suit over Milton rejection of state housing law headed to SJC

Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s lawsuit against the Town of Milton for violating a new state housing law will be heard before the Supreme Judicial Court this year, a justice ruled Monday. The move is a win for Campbell as she seeks an open-and-shut ruling against Milton for failing to comply with the MBTA Communities law, which requires 177 towns served by the T to create new zoning for multifamily housing. A verdict by the full SJC, Campbell’s office and housing advocates hope, will send a message to other towns that MBTA Communities is not optional, and towns that try to resist may be sued into compliance. Campbell’s office sought to have the case heard in the state’s highest court, as soon as possible, so that towns do not pause their planning efforts to see how the case plays out. An SJC ruling would provide final answers to some key questions surrounding the law. Sending the suit to Superior Court or Land Court could have extended the legal battle and left room for appeals. Justice Serge Georges Jr., in his ruling, agreed with Campbell’s office that the case should proceed swiftly and that it raises legal issues that should be decided by the state’s highest court. “I believe that this case raises novel questions of law which are of public importance, and which are time sensitive and likely to recur,” he wrote. But Georges’s ruling does present a problem for the state. He scheduled oral arguments in October, not in May, as Campbell’s office had hoped. That means a final ruling may come amid, or even after, fall Town Meeting season, when some 130 municipalities are due to consider zoning that the law requires be completed by the end of this year.