Attorney General Andrea Campbell speaks to reporters on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Photo by Alison Kuznitz | State House News Service

A new advisory from Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office says that the 15 towns that have blown past their deadlines to pass state-mandated, transit-oriented zoning now have until Jan. 1 to get their acts together.

A ruling from the state Supreme Judicial Court in January extended the deadline until July 14 for towns and cities on or near commuter rail lines to pass zoning that allows developers to build at least low-density multifamily housing without having to go through a cumbersome permitting process.

These new zoning districts required under 2021’s MBTA Communities law would have to be partly near transit stops and allow at least 15 homes per acre, roughly equivalent to a neighborhood of two- and three-family homes or a large apartment complex on a large lot.

The new letter Campbell’s office sent to municipal officials comes after Marblehead voters narrowly overturned that town’s MBTA Communities zoning in a referendum last week.

In her letter, Campbell said that her office won’t take action this summer or fall against noncompliant communities “that are making demonstrable and good faith efforts towards compliance.”

This gives the 15 scofflaw towns time to pass zoning during the traditional fall town meeting season.

“By contrast, where a community has demonstrated that it will achieve compliance only when ordered to do so by a court, and the pertinent deadline has passed, the [attorney general’s office] may bring a civil enforcement action at any time,” Campbell wrote.

Housing advocacy group Citizens Housing and Planning Alliance issued a statement backing Campbell’s decision.

“The MBTA Communities Act is an essential tool for creating the homes that people, our communities, and our economy need to thrive,” CHAPA CEO Rachel Heller said in a statement. “We applaud Attorney General Campbell for her commitment to enforcing state housing laws so that all people have opportunities to find homes they can afford in communities they choose. We hope that communities utilize the many resources available to implement the law, including CHAPA’s cost-free technical assistance program.”

So far, 139 towns and cities in Eastern Massachusetts have passed MBTA Communities-compliant zoning according to state statistics. Another 20 are classified as “adjacent small towns” not on but near commuter rail lines, and have until Dec. 31 to pass their zoning. And 15 municipalities are listed on the state’s website as having blown past their July 14 deadline, including Marblehead. Of those, only three have been officially deemed “non-compliant”: Halifax, Marshfield and Middleton.

Towns and cities that miss their MBTA Communities deadlines risk losing access to a raft of grant programs. Judges have repeatedly affirmed the constitutionality of the MTBA Communities law and state and quasi-public officials have made tens of millions of dollars in grants and technical assistance available communities trying to craft new zoning.

The law gave Cambpell’s office the power to sue municipalities that don’t comply. And nonprofit advocacy group Lawyers for Civil Rights sued the town of Holden on fair housing grounds to force its compliance with the law, eventually settling with the town in February.