LEXINGTON, Mass. — Massachusetts is one of the most expensive states in the country, and it's easy to find people frustrated with high home prices. "It's really hard to find housing, it's extremely expensive, and I can't afford to live alone," said renter Jamie Sharken, 34, as she walks her dog in Lexington, north of Boston and near where she shares a home with three others. "There's four of us in two bathrooms, definitely a run-down old house." A massive housing shortage has pushed up prices.
Sharken grew up in the state and would love to buy a home, but finds it hard to see how she could afford it. "Most of my friends have so much debt from education," she said. "Just being able to save money to put a down payment on a house feels impossible these days." She's heard about the ballot measure that aims to make housing more affordable by creating more starter homes on smaller lots.
Cities and towns here and across the U.S. have set minimum lot sizes for single-family homes, many of them quite large. The measure would require them to allow homes on lots as small as 5,000 square feet, about the size of a basketball court. If it passes, Massachusetts would become the latest in a growing number of states to mandate such a zoning change amid a nationwide housing crunch.
The idea is to boost overall supply and override persistent, local "not in my backyard" opposition to new development. Critics bristle at the loss of local control and say the measure may not really help struggling first-time buyers. But Sharken said encouraging smaller homes makes sense to her.
"There's so many homes that are empty with five, six, 10 bedrooms and one couple living there," she said. "I think it's time to share the wealth in terms of the space that we have and to have more housing for people." To understand what's driving the zoning measure and how it would work, it helps to go back in time. Andrew Mikula, a housing economist leading the push for the ballot measure, takes me to a quiet street in North Braintree, about 10 miles south of Boston.
The block we stand on was built a century ago. Colonial and Cape Cod-style clapboard homes, with shutters and dormer windows, sit fairly close together. Some are about 1,000 square feet, with three bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.
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