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I live in Fairhaven’s town center, in a neighborhood of single-family homes on modest sized lots, making up a community of what have long been considered starter homes. It is a sought-after neighborhood for homebuyers, ranging from families with young children to older couples happy to have a right-sized house and an easy-to-maintain yard in a vibrant town.
What might be hard to believe, though, is that this kind of neighborhood is illegal due to overly restrictive zoning laws that have been put in place in Massachusetts over the past 50+ years. Growing lot size requirements have made it so that only houses on huge lots can be built in many cities and towns across the state, creating more McMansions and fewer starter homes like the ones in Fairhaven and in historic town centers across South Coast. Eastern Massachusetts’ onerous minimum lot-size requirements can increase home prices by as much as 20% or more, according to one study, and these price effects tend to increase over time.
Fortunately, voters will have a chance to create more single-family starter homes on modest lots like mine, with Question 7 on the ballot on Nov. 3. A Yes on Question 7 would make it legal to build new single-family homes on lots of 5,000 square feet — roughly the size of an NBA basketball court — wherever public sewer and water service already exists. Other regulations, such as wetlands protections and limits on short-term rentals, would continue to apply. If passed, legalizing smaller lot sizes is estimated to generate 2,200 to 5,700 new homes per year statewide — not a huge amount, but enough to gently ease housing pressure in many communities.
Focusing on single-family housing, the goal of a minimum lot size is to build homes suitable for young adults, working families, seniors looking to downsize in their own community, and anyone who needs a more moderately priced home.
A house is not just a roof over someone’s head. It’s a home that provides a foundation for personal independence, family stability, community, financial consistency, and other aspects of a stable life. On the South Coast, communities need a range of housing options for different income levels and stages of life.
To address our housing shortage, we need more homes of all types, from apartments to duplexes to starter homes. This ballot measure would open up opportunities for smaller, more affordable homes in our neighborhoods.
This is a statewide problem and we can’t ask some communities to try to solve it on their own, when others won’t do their part. There’s nothing controversial about a starter home on a modest lot — people should be allowed to build one in any neighborhood. A statewide policy asks everyone to be part of the solution.
On Election Day, we have the chance to vote to reduce barriers associated with minimum lot sizes. SouthCoast Places for People supports Question 7 because everyone deserves a place to call home in a community where they will thrive.
Miles Grant is a member of SouthCoast Places for People, and an elected member of the Fairhaven Planning Board.
