Question 7 would allow Mass. "starter homes" on smaller lots
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Massachusetts voters will decide whether to override local laws to let single-family homes be built on lots as small as 5,000 square feet.
Why it matters: Question 7 will test whether voters are willing to give up a degree of local control to help address the housing crisis.
Context: Each of Massachusetts 351 cities and towns has its own rules over where and what kind of homes could be built.
- More than half of property zoned for single-family homes has a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet, per a recent report by the National Zoning Atlas.
- 24% of this land has an 80,000-square-foot lot size minimum, per the report.
Driving the news: The proposal would amend the state constitution to allow single-family homes on lots as small as 5,000 square feet, provided they have access to public water and sewer services and at least 50 feet of street frontage.
- The measure would override local zoning rules requiring larger lots, certain special permits or other requirements in most cases.
- If approved, it would take effect about a month after the election.
The fine print: It would still let local officials set other requirements on single-family homes, including dimensional setbacks, building heights and other restrictions.
- The proposal lets the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities issue regulations and guidelines to enforce the ballot measure, so that could add more clarity as to what rules still apply.
By the numbers: Massachusetts isn't anywhere close to meeting its goal of creating 222,000 new homes by 2035.
- The campaign behind the ballot measure, Legalize Starter Homes, said it could help generate 2,200 to 7,500 new homes a year. An independent analysis from the Tufts University Center for State Policy Analysis offers a more modest estimate: 350 to 1,200 net new homes.
What they're saying: "A yes vote on Question 7 will create more options for young people who want to stay in Massachusetts, working families looking for a starter home and seniors looking to downsize," campaign chair Andrew Mikula said in a statement after Mayor Michelle Wu endorsed the measure.
The other side: There's no formal opposition campaign, but Massachusetts Municipal Association president Adam Chapdelaine has raised concerns that the proposal could undermine local authority and backfire.
- "We are worried that what could happen is gentrification in communities, building of ... McMansions or very large homes on these small lots, going at market or even luxury rates and not really getting at the need," he told MassLive.
Reality check: The proposal doesn't guarantee that starter homes, or at least more affordable ones, would go up in smaller lot sizes.
- Nor does it stop local cities and towns from using other tactics to block single-family home construction on certain lots, like invoking wetland protections or slow-rolling building permits, per the cSPA.
- And that's assuming the state Legislature doesn't impose its own changes if the measure is approved.
The bottom line: Massachusetts' housing crisis isn't going away anytime soon.
- It's up to voters to decide whether this partial fix is worth giving up some local control.