Affordable Housing
May. 16th, 2026 05:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith“Are We Trying To Do Nothing?”
Marblehead is like many Massachusetts towns struggling to balance state-level housing mandates with local implementation. That balancing act has resulted in the town finding a way to technically comply with the MBTA Communities Act while functionally avoiding the construction of any new housing. The town’s creative response meets the requirements of the state mandate by placing most of the zoning capacity on a golf course, where housing is unlikely to ever be built.
Standing at the microphone, hoodie sleeves pushed up, David Modica saw through all the technical “creativity,” recognized what was really happening, and posed this question:
“Are we trying to do nothing?”
Very often, the answer is yes. That's a problem.
However, many towns do want to address the housing issues, and the article provides some excellent questions toward that.
Bear in mind that most towns are broke, and often use fraudulent accounting, so that makes it harder to fix housing shortages.
Often the best way to address a housing shortage is by restoring all the stuff that people banned because they didn't like it -- backyard cottages, duplexes, small apartment buildings, sharehouses, boarding houses, cottage courtyards, trailer courts, etc. Ideally, create a set of pre-approved plans in different sizes to match the local style and environment that anyone can use. It saves a ton of time and money.
To make affordable housing work, you need to assess your local housing needs. Do you have lots of retirees and/or young people moving out on their own? Small units (0-2 bedrooms) will be very helpful, along with a few larger ones for folks who want to share. Do you have lots of young families? You need at least 2 bedrooms (parents and a child or same-sex children) and 3 is better (parents' room, boys' room, girls' room). Really look at putting modest-size homes on small lots, or alternatively, use hollow blocks with the small yards bordering an interior common space. A cottage courtyard is the same idea on a smaller scale, fitting several small houses on one or two standard lots. Ask what people need, then ask why that is not happening, then work on lowering those barriers.
Marblehead is like many Massachusetts towns struggling to balance state-level housing mandates with local implementation. That balancing act has resulted in the town finding a way to technically comply with the MBTA Communities Act while functionally avoiding the construction of any new housing. The town’s creative response meets the requirements of the state mandate by placing most of the zoning capacity on a golf course, where housing is unlikely to ever be built.
Standing at the microphone, hoodie sleeves pushed up, David Modica saw through all the technical “creativity,” recognized what was really happening, and posed this question:
“Are we trying to do nothing?”
Very often, the answer is yes. That's a problem.
However, many towns do want to address the housing issues, and the article provides some excellent questions toward that.
Bear in mind that most towns are broke, and often use fraudulent accounting, so that makes it harder to fix housing shortages.
Often the best way to address a housing shortage is by restoring all the stuff that people banned because they didn't like it -- backyard cottages, duplexes, small apartment buildings, sharehouses, boarding houses, cottage courtyards, trailer courts, etc. Ideally, create a set of pre-approved plans in different sizes to match the local style and environment that anyone can use. It saves a ton of time and money.
To make affordable housing work, you need to assess your local housing needs. Do you have lots of retirees and/or young people moving out on their own? Small units (0-2 bedrooms) will be very helpful, along with a few larger ones for folks who want to share. Do you have lots of young families? You need at least 2 bedrooms (parents and a child or same-sex children) and 3 is better (parents' room, boys' room, girls' room). Really look at putting modest-size homes on small lots, or alternatively, use hollow blocks with the small yards bordering an interior common space. A cottage courtyard is the same idea on a smaller scale, fitting several small houses on one or two standard lots. Ask what people need, then ask why that is not happening, then work on lowering those barriers.
Good points, gets people to think local solutions immediately
Date: 2026-05-16 11:33 pm (UTC)Re: Good points, gets people to think local solutions immediately
Date: 2026-05-17 01:51 am (UTC)So local is the most important level. If you have a town council interested in affordable housing, it can be done. Almost all the zoning, approval, and similar issues are local. National only deals in things like the federal interest rate. Some states have rules that get in the way, like restricting trailers to trailer parks only. Here in Illinois you can plunk one anywhere that isn't zoned against it, so you see them on rural lots and the edges of towns as well as in parks. Local is what most often determines what can be built where, or not.