Hamilton Residents Approve 3A Compliance Before Deadline

At the July 14, 2025 Hamilton Special Town Meeting, residents voted to approve a proposal to comply with the state’s MBTA Communities zoning requirements for multi-family housing, otherwise known as 3A.

Please see a summary of the approved proposal below:

• Addition of three new Town Center Sub-Districts: Bay Road Mixed-Use, Willow-Street Mixed Use, and Downtown Residential Sub Districts.
• Creation of a new 3A Multi-Family Overlay District which covers two parcels on Asbury Street outside of Town Center.
• In the new sub-districts and the overlay district, multi-family housing is allowed by-right, with a minimum density of 15 units per acre.
• The newly created subdistricts and overlay district fulfill the 731 minimum multifamily unit capacity and satisfies the minimum 49-acre land area.

The Special Town Meeting was held after the Massachusetts Superior Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of 10 residents in Hamilton which argued that 3A was unconstitutional because it was an “unfunded mandate”.

In dismissing the lawsuit, the court found:

• 3A does not constitute an unfunded mandate.
• The state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) has the discretion to implement the law.

July 14, 2025 was the final deadline for Hamilton to comply with 3A. For a review of the 3A guidelines, please click HERE.