POLICY ANALYSIS
Our Support for
Housing Choices Bill
Reintroduced legislation enables municipalities to implement zoning changes
more easily and could boost our housing production here on the Cape.
As Tip O’Neill’s famous saying
goes, “All politics is local,” and
that rings true today as we look at
potential state legislative reforms
BY CHRIS FLANAGAN
for housing development, further empowering
residents at the local level to enact zoning
reforms. Governor Charlie Baker resurrected
a bill he filed during the last legislative session,
the Housing Choices Bill, for this legislative
session, which mirrors the legislation the
Home Builders and Remodelers Association
of Massachusetts (HBRAMA) supported. The
Governor asserts the bill would support the
production of 135,000 new housing units statewide by 2025.
“Today, we have more people working in Massachusetts than
at any time in our Commonwealth’s history, and the need for
substantially increased housing production—for residents across
the income spectrum—is necessary to match Massachusetts’
booming economic growth,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “This
legislation is critical, and will unlock the potential of our cities
and towns committed to responsible growth, development and
enacting best practices in sustainable housing production.”
Now that newly-elects are sworn in and committee
assignments have been finalized for this legislative session, the
Legislature could feasibly take action on this piece of legislation.
The Housing Choices Bill is a bold step taken by Governor
Baker to give cities and municipalities the opportunity to
implement zoning changes and best practices by a simple
majority vote as opposed to a supermajority two-thirds vote
at Town Meeting. Although this legislation does not require
cities or municipalities to enact these zoning changes, it enables
municipalities to implement zoning changes more easily.
Why is this important for Cape Cod? There are a multitude
of economic factors that feed into our housing crisis, and there
are a multitude of housing factors, like year-round housing
options for residents, that impact our regional economy. The
state of our economy and our housing crisis are inextricably
linked to our region’s vitality. To ensure we maintain a strong
and healthy economy here in Cape Cod
our region needs to diversify our housing
stock for our workforce, families, young
professionals, and seniors.
Since a small segment of the overall voter
population attends and votes at Town Meeting,
getting a two-thirds supermajority vote from
those who are able to attend may not always
be reflective of the larger community that
supports it, but who are unable to attend
Town Meeting for one reason or another.
Even at upcoming spring Town Meetings
across the Cape, there could be as many as
five municipalities—Eastham, Harwich, Dennis, Yarmouth, and
Chatham—taking action on an Accessory Dwelling Unity bylaw.
Examples of zoning changes and best practices HBRAMA
outlines that towns on the Cape could implement in addition to
Accessory Dwelling Units bylaw are:
• building mixed-use, multi-family, and starter homes,
• adopting 40R in town centers,
• approving Smart Growth or Starter Homes districts near
existing activity centers,
• granting increased density through a special permit
process, and
• reducing parking requirements and dimensional
requirements, such as minimum lot sizes.
The Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod
will collaborate with state and local organizations to advocate
for the passage of the Housing Choices Bill currently with the
Legislature as soon as possible. Governor Baker has proven
that housing is a priority for his Administration; now we as a
community need to do our part by advocating for this bill to our
Cape state legislators.
If passed, we can then get our members, family, and friends to
Town Meeting to pass zoning reforms and best practices in our
hometowns’ best interests, because all politics is local.
Chris Flanagan is the executive director of the Home Builders and
Remodelers Association of Cape Cod.
AT HOME ON CAPE COD 70 • SPRING/SUMMER 2019