Linkage Ordinance is rejected in Boston Superior Court.

Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Mel Greenberg rules the 1983 amendment to Boston zoning code is invalid because it was not expressly authorized by the Massachusetts legislature. The decision comes in a case that results from a suit by developer Jerome Rappaport. But the Supreme Judicial Court overturns the ruling and upholds the law on August 21, 1986, and the Massachusetts legislature also authorizes the policy by adoption of Chapter 371 in October 1987. The legislature goes on to authorize the city to increase linkage payment rates and establish an inclusionary development policy as part of its zoning code in January 2021.