Massachusetts voters will decide this November whether to loosen local zoning restrictions and allow single-family homes to be built on smaller lots of land across the state.
Ballot Question 7, known as the “Starter Homes” question, would establish a new statewide minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet for the construction of single-family homes. Currently, minimum lot size requirements are generally determined by local communities, with many Massachusetts towns requiring about an acre of land and some requiring as much as two acres.
Supporters of the measure argue those larger lot requirements have become a significant obstacle to creating affordable housing…