Legalize Starter Homes Petition
Housing affordability is on my mind and it should be on yours too if you want to continue to see ...
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Housing affordability is on my mind and it should be on yours too if you want to continue to see our great state and the communities of Massachusetts prosper and grow. We are so fortunate to live here in Mass; we have some of the best public schools & universities in the country, fantastic public services and our overall quality of life can't be beat. What we don't have, is affordable housing. You've probably seen some political ads about the Rent Control lately but don't be fooled, that will only exacerbate the issue. What we unequivocally need, is to increase the housing supply. There is only one way to do that, remove the historically exclusionary zoning regulations that towns have implemented over the years to keep people out of their neighborhoods.
I'm a little late to this but I just signed the Petition to Legalize Starter homes with the goal to "allow single-family homes to be built in any residentially-zoned area as long as the lot has at least 5,000 square feet, at least 50 feet of land bordering the street, and access to public sewer and water services." I think every resident has an obligation to sign it too, whether you own a home already or not.
The New York Times recently highlighted this petition and while I truly hate the current article title (the original title was changed to this one since it was first published), the data and insight in to the issue here in MA it provides is invaluable, undeniable and a stark reminder of the dark history of exclusionary zoning here and throughout the metropolitan areas of the country.
Massachusetts faces one of the nation's most severe housing shortages, and a growing number of housing advocates believe minimum lot-size requirements are part of the problem. According to the data, MA builds 20 new homes per 1,000 residents each year and they cost 6.4x the yearly income of the average household, which is a whopping $144k/year by the way! This equates to a new home price of over $920,000. In Austin where zoning is less restrictive, there are 7x as many homes built per 1,000 residents and they cost closer to 4x the annual household income for a price tag of around $400,000 per home.
The proposed statewide ballot initiative would allow single-family homes to be built on lots as small as 5,000 square feet in areas served by public water and sewer. Today, many communities require much larger lots, often making new housing more expensive and limiting the number of homes that can be built. In towns like West Newbury and Boxford were there is little to no sewer systems the minimum lot size is 2 acres. While I fully understand the need for new septic or sewer infrastructure to support smaller lots and the importance of strict septic design regulations: 2 acres is ridiculous and mainly remains in place to limit development, increase demand and keep prices high for current homeowners. The reality is, development could never happen fast enough to lower single family prices in any meaningful way for current owners in towns like these.
The proposal would not eliminate local zoning or require multifamily development. Instead, it would establish a statewide maximum lot-size requirement for single-family homes in eligible areas, allowing property owners and developers more flexibility to create smaller, more affordable homes. This won't change things overnight but it's a meaningful step in the right direction. There are a lot of subtleties to workout but it is vital that towns aren't allowed to hamstring or ignore these regulations like many have done or attempted to do with the MBTA Communities Zoning Act.
The measure could help create more starter homes, provide additional options for first-time buyers, and make it easier for young families and longtime residents to remain in Massachusetts - we do have an emigration problem that is only getting worse after all . Smaller lots can support more efficient use of existing infrastructure, particularly in neighborhoods already served by water and sewer systems.
Opponents raise concerns about local control, neighborhood character, traffic, and infrastructure impacts but for the most part lots of this is thinly veiled NIMBYism. Many existing zoning rules were created during a different era and now contribute to rising housing costs and limited housing opportunities. From the 1950s through the 1970s, many affluent suburbs used zoning rules to block apartments and smaller homes, deepening economic and racial segregation. We have an obligation to remedy this for that reason too.
The debate reflects a broader question facing Massachusetts: how to increase housing production while balancing community concerns. As housing affordability continues to challenge residents across the state, minimum lot-size reform has emerged as one potential tool for expanding housing supply and improving access to home ownership.
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