After months of campaigning, a heated debate over a state-mandated plan that would have made it easier to build multifamily housing in parts of Needham came to a head Tuesday when voters soundly rejected the new zoning.

Needham became the latest Massachusetts suburb to shoot down a controversial state-mandated MBTA zoning plan, but its Select Board chairman says the town won’t follow in Milton’s footsteps. Needham residents voted Tuesday to repeal zoning that would have made the Greater Boston town compliant with the MBTA Communities Act – a plan that carried much more weight than what the state law requires.

NEEDHAM - Needham residents have voted against the town's plan to comply with the MBTA Communities Law, even as the state filed emergency regulations intended to enforce the rules. According to preliminary special election results,