Dive Brief:
- Wellesley, Massachusetts, is suing the state over plans to build 180 housing units in a community college parking lot owned by the state.
- The complaint argues that the state cannot legally apply a required “surplus real property” designation to build housing on the 5-acre parking lot because the college is still actively using it. It also objects to the proposed housing density.
- Massachusetts passed the Affordable Homes Act, which includes an initiative to use state-owned land for housing, in 2024. “While the Commonwealth’s commitment to bolstering housing supply and affordability is commendable, and shared by the Plaintiffs, the ends do not justify the means,” Wellesley’s complaint states.
Dive Insight:
As more states push to grow housing supply, more clashes with local governments over home rule are breaking out.
Several Colorado communities are in a standoff with the state over housing-related mandates, and more than two dozen New Jersey municipalities have vowed to continue fighting state housing density rules even after a federal court ruled against them.
More recently, the Illinois Municipal League helped stall sweeping state housing legislation proposals that cities argued would have superseded local authority.
Several states, including California and Maryland, are utilizing more state-owned land for housing development, often near transit.
In a news release, Wellesley officials said the town “has a strong and well-established record of supporting housing production and affordability,” noting that it has met other state housing obligations. The town has a population of more than 30,000.
The Wellesley Select Board “would have preferred to continue discussions with Commonwealth officials and refrain from filing legal action at this time, but overtures for compromise, aligned with these objectives, have neither been answered nor reciprocated,” town officials wrote in announcing the complaint.
Massachusetts estimates it needs to build 115,600 homes over the next decade to meet current demand.
