Small single-family homes are illegal in most of MA. Voters can change that

Massachusetts voters may soon force the state to legalize building houses on smaller plots of land than it usually allows. Presently, the majority of land zoned for single-family housing in the state requires at least 40,000 square feet of land per house. The cost and size of these large plots leads Massachusetts developers to build fewer houses, which in turn drives up the price of housing in the state. The result is “an exodus of working-age people” Jennifer Ludden writes for NPR. A new ballot measure would allow homes to be built on lots as small as 5,000 square feet.

“After World War II, as suburbs exploded, cities across the country mandated bigger and bigger lot sizes for single-family homes only. The trend effectively banned apartments, duplexes or townhomes on large swaths of residential land and locked in economic and racial segregation,” Jennifer Ludden writes for NPR.

In Massachusetts, about 400,000 young adults still live with their parents because of the state's housing shortage. Jesse Kanson-Benanav, executive director at Abundant Housing Massachusetts, said the shortage also impacts senior citizens who aren't able to downsize within their neighborhoods. Retail, service and healthcare workers are also priced out of many Massachusetts communities.