IN THE WAKE of a lawsuit filed last month by Attorney General Andrea Campbell against nine communities for failing to comply with a controversial new housing law, some leaders of the holdout towns are starting to openly acknowledge that this may be the end of the road for resistance to the law.

The municipalities have fought back for about two years against the MBTA Communities Act, a 2021 law that requires the 177 cities and towns with or near MBTA service to create a district that allows multifamily housing to be built as of right. But some are losing the will to keep up the fight.

Holden residents are scheduled to vote later this month on a plan that would “do the bare minimum” – but nonetheless bring the town into compliance with the housing law.

The Winthrop Town Council, in a tie vote, rejected a motion to join a lawsuit against the state attacking the law. Even two new members who ran for seats last fall on promises to oppose the law voted against joining the suit.

In Marblehead, leaders are expected to present voters who rejected an earlier plan with another proposal that would bring the community into compliance at their town meeting in May.

Campbell sued the three towns – along with Dracut, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Middleton, Tewksbury, and Wilmington – on January 29 for blowing past a July 2025 deadline to approve compliant zoning plans. Several, including Holden and Marblehead, were already heading toward new attempts to rezone before the lawsuit landed.

Meanwhile, the law will be before the Supreme Judicial Court next month, when the justices hear arguments in a case brought by Marshfield that claims the zoning law should be struck down as an “unfunded mandate” being imposed on communities.

It’s the second time the SJC will have to parse the intention and constitutionality of the law. In January 2025, the court ruled against Milton in a suit brought by Attorney General Campbell, declaring the law constitutional and saying the attorney general had the authority to mandate compliance with it. Oral arguments are scheduled for March 4.

The SJC agreed to hear an appeal of the unfunded mandate case after a Superior Court judge rejected the claim by Marshfield and other towns that legislators created financial burdens for towns by forcing them to rezone without any dedicated state funding.

Even while side-eyeing the law, residents tasked with getting the municipalities into compliance are plugging along.

Mary Jude Pigsley, who sits on Holden’s MBTA Communities working group, made it clear at a January 27 meeting that the town is approaching the task grudgingly. The group devised a plan that it believes “to be the least impactful to the town and established the bare minimum that we’re required to do,” said Pigsley.

The working group was formed after Holden rejected earlier plans, with the goal of bringing in more community voices to develop a new plan to present to town meeting voters, explained Linda Long-Bellil, a member of the Holden Select Board. She told those gathered at the informational meeting that the group sought to minimize impacts on traffic infrastructure, environmentally sensitive areas, and the “character” of neighborhoods.

One resident who opposes the housing law noted that it is intended to boost housing production, but Holden’s plan is pitched as “painless” and aimed at minimizing new development. So as far as making a dent in the state’s housing shortage, he said, “we won’t help.”

“We might not, but we will comply with the law,” Long-Bellil replied, capturing a sentiment common in many of the communities that have resisted the statute.

The possibility hanging over any of these towns that are inching toward compliance is that voters may reject the plans before them, keeping the towns in the crosshairs of the attorney general’s suit.

In her initial suit against the town of Milton for noncompliance, Campbell asked that possible court action include appointing a special master to draw up a zoning by-law or imposing fines on the town.

If Holden does not pass the new plan at the February 23 special town meeting, Pigsley warned, a state-appointed master will choose a zoning plan for them. “The state will pick something that nobody in Holden has input on,” she said.

Legislators and the Healey administration have made eligibility for a number of discretionary state grants to cities and towns contingent on complying with the MBTA Communities law. At a Holden Select Board meeting earlier this month, Long-Bellil noted that the list of grants that the state is now tying to compliance with the law has grown, imperiling several sources of funding.

Middleton – another one of the noncompliant towns being sued – has already lost out on key traffic safety funding.

Facing the new suit from Campbell, some noncompliant towns are gingerly working to bring their communities back to the discussion table. Dracut is hosting a meeting on February 26, touting it as “your chance to share your thoughts, questions, and ideas while discussing options and recommendations with fellow residents.”

One noncompliant town, which dodged the attorney general’s suit because it already had a vote scheduled, ultimately caved.

Freetown had voted down compliant zoning multiple times, but passed a zoning plan in line with the law on February 2. During an hour of discussion, mistrust directed at the state hung in the air.

Residents complained about being pressured by the state, with one resident worrying that officials would “twist our arms” and make the town go further with its multifamily zoning if they were underwhelmed by its stab at complying with the law.