Attorney General Andrea Campbell escalated a state dispute with Milton to Massachusetts’ highest court, where she asked a judge to force the town to come into compliance with a transit-oriented development law.

Campbell’s lawsuit, filed Tuesday with the Supreme Judicial Court, raises the stakes on what has been voter-backed opposition to a law supporters say addresses the state’s crushing housing crisis by allowing more for housing near public transit hubs.

The attorney general said the MBTA Communities Act was enacted “to address our region-wide need for housing, and compliance with it is mandatory.” Campbell asked the court to order Milton to zone at least one district for multi-family housing, a move that would bring it into line with the law.

“The housing affordability crisis affects all of us: families who face impossible choices between food on the table or a roof over their heads, young people who want to live here but are driven away by the cost, and a growing workforce we cannot house,” she said in a statement.

Milton residents earlier this month voted against a plan that would have increased the town’s housing stock by more than 2,450 multi-family units, or 25%, near transit stations. Campbell previously teased legal action against Milton after the vote.

Community members started to chart a path forward after the vote by seeking to reclassify the town away from a “rapid transit community.”

About 177 communities are subject to the law, and 12 cities and towns had a deadline of Dec. 31, 2023 to enact a “compliant zoning district.” Milton developed a plan but voted it down in February.

Healey said every community needs to do their part to make housing more affordable.

“I’m grateful to Attorney General Campbell and her team for taking this important step today to enforce compliance with the MBTA Communities Law. This is not just about one community – but about the future of our workforce, our economy, and our entire state,” Healey said in a statement.

This is a developing story…