Massachusetts Ballot Question Would Legalize Smaller Lots for Starter Homes

This fall, Massachusetts voters will decide whether to allow homes on smaller lots. Boosters hope the initiative will transform the state's lagging housing market and promote starter homes.Question 7, if passed, would change the state's laws so that a single-family home could be built on a lot that's residentially zoned and at least 5,000 square feet. The lot would need at least 50 feet of land bordering the street or public way, and it would also need access to public sewer and water.Dozens of states have looked at reforms to make it easier to build small "starter" homes. These kinds of small and more affordable homes have vanished over the years, but are starting to make a comeback. But in many cases, they've run into resistance, especially as cities try to change zoning laws to allow smaller-lot development.The goal is to allow smaller homes on more versatile lots. Andrew Mikula, the ballot initiative's organizer, is chief housing economist at the Pioneer Institute, a free-market think tank. He thinks Question 7 is the "Dolly Parton of ballot questions," pointing to broad support across the state."Really want to frame it as kind of a baseline standard for what we should expect c...