Yes in My Backyard
Full title: An Act relative to yes in my backyard (H.1379 / S.858)
Lead Sponsors: Rep. Andy Vargas and Rep. Kevin Honan; Sen. Brendan Crighton
Committee: Joint Committee on Housing
The Issue
Massachusetts faces a growing affordable housing crisis. To rent the average 2-bedroom apartment in Massachusetts requires an income equal to $37.97 per hour. Home ownership has become increasingly out of reach, as the state’s median home price has passed $600,000. If we want to address the housing crisis, we need stronger tenant protections, greater funding, and more homes being built. Rental and homeowner vacancy rates are far below sustainable levels, a sign of demand outstripping supply.
If we want to see more homes, and more affordable homes, being built, then we need to reform our zoning laws. According to a recent analysis, Massachusetts metro areas accounted for 3 of the top 10 metro areas with the most restrictive zoning laws. Such restrictive zoning laws push up costs and reinforce residential segregation: indeed, according to census data, more than 60 percent of Massachusetts’s Black population lives in just ten cities.
Massachusetts risks losing a workforce if people can no longer afford to live here. Policy created our housing crisis, and better policy can fix it.
The Solution
This bill would address the critical dimension of supply in our affordable housing crisis by doing the following:
- Establishing a statewide housing production goal of 427,000 new units by 2040, 85,400 of which would be income restricted
- Requiring multi-family zoning and removing costly parking mandates around public transportation and other suitable locations throughout the state
- Legalizing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as of right (i.e., without the need for special zoning) statewide
- Creating a streamlined process for turning vacant land and commercial properties into multi-family housing
- Prioritizing the disposition of state-owned land for affordable housing
- Allowing communities to adopt inclusionary zoning ordinances by simple majority
Contact Your Legislators
Find your legislators’ contact information here.
Massachusetts is facing a housing crisis, with unsustainable growth in rents and housing costs. We need bold action from the Legislature this session. Please support the Yes in My Backyard bill (H.1379 / S.858), filed by Reps. Vargas and Honan in the House and Sen. Crighton in the Senate.
These bills would establish a statewide housing production goal and authorize the policies needed to meet it. They would require multifamily zoning and remove costly parking mandates around public transportation, encouraging dense, transit-oriented development that is good for climate and good for communities. And they would expedite the process of converting unused state-owned land into affordable housing or vacant commercial properties into multifamily housing, among many other steps.
Massachusetts has taken important steps in recent years to encourage cities and towns to build more housing, but there is more work to be done. Can I count on your support for this bill?
- MA has a housing crisis, and we need bold, comprehensive action. The #YesinMyBackyard bill must be part of the solution.
- Walkable, transit-oriented communities are good for climate, good for local economies, and good for all of us. The #YesinMyBackyard bill offers a vital path forward.
- Our archaic zoning laws have exacerbated housing segregation and made housing increasingly unaffordable. The #YesinMyBackyard bill helps us tackle both problems.
- We need creative solutions for turning vacant state-owned or commercial land into housing. The #YesinMyBackyard can help make that happen.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Adapt the template below! Or email us at issues@progressivemass.com for help!
Massachusetts faces a growing affordable housing crisis. To rent the average 2-bedroom apartment in Massachusetts requires an income equal to $37.97 per hour. Home ownership has become increasingly out of reach, as the state’s median home price has passed $600,000.
If we want to see more homes, and more affordable homes, being built, then we need to reform our zoning laws. According to a recent analysis, Massachusetts metro areas accounted for 3 of the top 10 metro areas with the most restrictive zoning laws. Such restrictive zoning laws push up costs and reinforce residential segregation: indeed, according to census data, more than 60 percent of Massachusetts’s Black population lives in just ten cities.
Bills like the Yes in My Backyard bill (H.1379 / S.858) must be a part of the solution to our state’s housing crisis. The bill would require multifamily zoning and remove costly parking mandates around public transportation, encouraging dense, transit-oriented development that is good for climate and good for communities. It would expedite the process of converting unused state-owned land into affordable housing or vacant commercial properties into multifamily housing, among many other steps.
If we want Massachusetts to be a place where people can afford to live at any stage of life, then our politicians need to start taking the housing crisis seriously.
Read More
- Callahan, Molly. “Greater Boston Housing Earns ‘Failing Grade’ in Annual Report Card.” BU Today. October 26, 2022. https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/greater-boston-housing-earns-failing-grade-in-annual-report/.
- Gould, Catie. “Shifting Gears: Why Communities Are Eliminating Off-Street Parking Requirements—and What Comes Next.” Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. October 12, 2022. https://www.lincolninst.edu/publications/articles/2022-10-shifting-gears-eliminating-off-street-parking-requirements.
- Kohli, Diti. “The Typical House in Greater Boston Now Costs $900,000. Here’s What That’ll Buy You in the Rest of America.”Boston Globe. July 20, 2022. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/07/20/business/typical-house-greater-boston-now-costs-900000-heres-what-thatll-buy-you-rest-america/.
- Margolies, Jane. “Awash in Asphalt, Cities Rethink Their Parking Needs.” New York Times. March 7, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/business/fewer-parking-spots.html.
- Mleczko, Matt and Matthew Desmond. “To Reform Exclusionary Zoning, We First Need to Document It. Now We Have a Tool for That.” Eviction Lab. March 17, 2023. https://evictionlab.org/zoning-restrictiveness-index/.
- National Low Income Housing Coalition. “Massachusetts.” Accessed April 5, 2023. https://nlihc.org/oor/state/ma.
- Shroyer, Aaron. “How Using Public Land Can Help Address Housing Shortages.” Housing Matters. December 11, 2019. https://housingmatters.urban.org/articles/how-using-public-land-can-help-address-housing-shortages.
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