Dorchester civic group comes out swinging against more development - not in Dorchester, but next door in Milton

After years of Milton residents fretting about evil Bostonians swarming their town, it's time for some turnabout: The executive board of the Cedar Grove Civic Association in Dorchester says its residents should join the fight against a ballot question in Milton that would allow denser development in parts of that town, to keep more commuting Miltonians from swarming their neighborhood.

In a Facebook post today, the leaders of the Cedar Grove group say warn that if the measure passes, "thousands" more Waze-crazed Miltonians would clog Dorchester's overburdened roads on their way to their jobs downtown.

Milton Town Meeting approved zoning changes in December to allow greater housing density near rapid transit lines, under a state mandate aimed at increasing greater Boston's housing supply by allowing more housing development near MBTA stations. But a group of residents got enough signatures to hold a referendum on the measure on Feb. 13.

Milton is the only Boston-area community to have not yet filed compliance plans with the state, which has threatened legal action if the proposal is voted down.

The leaders of the Dorchester group call on Dorchester residents to pick up the phone and call all their Milton relatives and friends to urge a "no" vote - and to volunteer for the No group in Milton on Election Day to make sure the measure dies - which they say will send a message to the state that a "one size fits all" development policy just isn't right.

The board says the Milton proposal would cram the higher-density zones in East Milton, which means more GPS-directed car traffic from Milton through streets such as Hilltop Street, Milton Street and Gallivan Boulevard on the other side of the Neponset.

The board snorts at the idea that the Mattapan Line, which serves Milton along the Neponset River, is "rapid transit" or that anybody in the new condos in Milton would willingly take it:

Long story short, this zoning scheme will make these problems worse. We know that nobody is going to be walking or even driving from these proposed condo buildings to a trolley station, especially given the MBTA's current state of unreliability, and the already existing resident parking requirements around our trolley station. They're going to get in their cars and drive through our neighborhood to get the expressway like many Milton residents do today, but if this zoning change passes, there will be thousands more cars each day.

Milton also has a group calling for a yes vote on next week's referendum.