The MBTA's logo is seen on the side of an MBTA commuter rail locomotive in this file photo. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff

In another blow to advocates and state officials hoping for another Boston suburb that would welcome new zoning, Needham voters resoundingly rejected a plan Tuesday to add thousands of new apartments in the town’s commercial districts.

The upzoning plan passed by Needham Town Meeting by a 118-90 vote in October to comply with the MBTA Communities law. It would have likely allowed up to 2,500 new homes to be built over the coming decades on top of the roughly 775 multifamily units that exist in the districts now, officials estimated.

But opponents used town bylaws to force a referendum on the plan. That referendum, held yesterday, saw Needham voters resoundingly reject the plan, 6,866 to 4,882 – a nearly 60-40 split against.

Under new guidelines issued the same day by state housing officials, Needham has six months to come up with a new zoning plan that has room for 1,784 existing or new multifamily units near its commuter rail line stations before it loses access to a litany of state grant programs. The town could also face a lawsuit from Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a possibility confirmed by the state’s highest court last week.

Needham Residents for Thoughtful Zoning, the opposition group, had attacked the zoning plan using familiar avenues. The group’s website argues it would “destabilize” property values, lead to “uncontrollable growth” in the school-age population, bring congestion and damage what they described as Needham’s “small town” character.

Yes for Needham, the coalition of businesses and residents supporting the zoning plan, fought back with data showing the new housing would benefit local businesses and would have minimal impact on the school district, particularly on its existing building plans.

“The voters have spoken, and while YES for Needham is disappointed with the outcome, we look forward to seeing the vision that the Planning Board and Select Board lay out over the coming weeks and months regarding the future of multi-family housing in Needham,” the group wrote in a Facebook post after the results were announced. “We stand with the town and are committed to ensuring a future where Needham seniors, workforce, and young people have access to flexible housing.”

Town officials supporting the larger rezoning project said they backed the state’s strategy of tackling Massachusetts’ housing affordability crisis through expanded multifamily development of multifamily in the suburbs.

The plan would have applied to sections of Chestnut Street, Highland Avenue, Crescent Road and Hillside Avenue, which include commercial properties and multifamily housing.

Last week, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the state’s authority to enforce provisions of the law, but overturned regulations on its implementation because of a procedural error by the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Gov. Maura Healey announced emergency regulations requiring communities to comply by July 14.

The new timetable gives additional time to suburbs that had been subject to a Dec. 31 deadline which applied to communities with commuter rail stations and adjacent communities.

Although 116 communities in the category submitted compliance plans, town meetings in Duxbury, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Marshfield, Winthrop and Wrentham all rejected multifamily zoning districts late in the year. Many others have opted for so-called “paper compliance” by designing zoning districts that are unlikely to result in much new development due to dimensional limits, infrastructure limitations or existing land uses. Officials and voters in a limited number of other communities like Lexington and Watertown have moved to welcome dramatically more housing units than they were required under the MBTA Communities law.

“As disappointing as the vote in Needham is, the overwhelming trend in Massachusetts is unchanged: cities and towns are consistently giving the green light to more housing because voters know that the future of our commonwealth depends on investing in housing,” Rachel Heller,CEO of Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), said in a statement.

Image courtesy of RKG Associates and Innes Associates