“In May 1275, Nichiren Daishonin composed this letter, now famously titled “Winter Always Turns to Spring,” to the lay nun Myoichi.” The quote is a core principle for many Buddhists over the centuries.

It came to my attention last night because Jaylen Brown used it in an interview after the Boston Celtics returned to Dallas after last year’s NBA Finals and beat the Mavericks…again.

We are in winter still.

Milton is preparing for town elections this spring where once again, two of five seats on our Select Board are up for election. With a 3-2 split board in favor of continued resistance to the MBTA Communities Act, each election means a possibility of a shift in priorities come May.

How have voters reacted to the town spending $300,000 challenging Governor Healey and Attorney General Campbell at the Supreme Judicial Court? No one knows. Both sides claimed victory in the SJC decision handed down on January 8th but most observers saw it as a clear victory for compliance with the law, once the “guidelines” are turned into “regulations”. Healey’s team issued emergency regulations a few days later to clarify for the 117 towns already in compliance that the same rules continue to apply. The old guidelines came as a result of a lengthy public process that spanned from when they were issued on August 10, 2022, revised on October 21, 2022 and revised again on August 17, 2023 after substantial public comment. The state now must promulgate regulations consistent with the Administrative Procedures Act.

Leaders of “no” efforts in a number of communities clearly see an opportunity to influence the state to substantially change the regulations but it is hard to see the state winning in court only to concede to the town that is trying to challenge the state’s authority to implement the law.

What do Milton opponents want? MBTA Communities Act guidelines call for the town to zone for 2,461 units. Leaders of the Milton Vote No campaign want that number reduced to what they call a “middle ground” of 550, all presumably in the southwest portion of town near the Hyde Park commuter rail stations. It is hard to imagine the state agreeing to that amidst a housing supply crisis that is not abating.

But Denny Swenson‘s “foot soldiers” believe they have the momentum. Towns, at least the towns they talk to regularly, are rising up against the state believing that their they should be given special consideration.

The SJC clearly said the law is constitutional and the AG can enforce it. 117 towns have already complied. More are poised to join them this year. States around the country like California, Connecticut, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Maine have passed laws encouraging greater housing supply with many targeting “upzoning” as a key piece of the puzzle. How many more taxpayer dollars are the no leaders willing to spend on a legal fight with the Commonwealth? How long can they try to delay the inevitable? Milton, like 176 other communities, will have to fully comply with the law. Spring is coming.