Massachusetts
A 5,000-square-foot solution to the Massachusetts housing crisis – The Boston Globe
Andrew Mikula is chair of the Legalize Starter Homes ballot committee.
I came across Baxter Village after a Google Maps perusal of one of the country’s fastest-growing regions. Completed in 2014 and billed as a “traditional neighborhood development” with a walkable town center and intimate, tree-lined residential streets, the village is downright idyllic. The architecture is clearly inspired by early 20th-century New England — a Norman Rockwell-style vista of homes with raised front porches, wood clapboard siding, steep roofs, and dormer windows.
But Baxter Village isn’t located in New England. It’s in South Carolina, about 15 miles south of Charlotte.
The reality is that 15 miles outside of Boston, Worcester, or Lowell, Baxter Village would almost certainly be illegal, for a variety of reasons. First, the development’s home lots are small, often only slightly larger than a basketball court. Local zoning codes in suburban Massachusetts frequently preclude such small lots, and New England in particular has high minimum lot-size requirements for new homes, compared to most of the country.
Given that Massachusetts has the nation’s toughest home buying market for young adults, many voters are open to reducing these lot-size minimums. A May 2025 Abundant Housing Massachusetts/MassINC poll found that 78 percent of Massachusetts voters support “allowing homes to be built on smaller lots,” and 72 percent support allowing the subdivision of large lots into smaller lots. Doing so would open up more housing options in the suburbs, creating opportunities to build smaller, lower-cost homes suitable for first-time buyers and downsizing seniors, colloquially called “starter homes.”
That’s why 12 housing experts — urban planners, academics, land use attorneys, and advocates — and I recently filed a petition with the Massachusetts attorney general’s office that would make it legal to build on lots about the size of a basketball court (5,000 square feet) statewide. As long as the lot has access to public sewer and water service, as well as a 50-foot border with the street, the site could host a single-family home, although it may be subject to other regulations like wetlands protections and limits on short-term rentals.
Our committee — Legalize Starter Homes — cleared the first signature-gathering hurdle needed to place this measure on the ballot this year, and Secretary of State William Galvin’s recent certification has advanced this potential ballot question to the next step in the process.
Research has shown that Massachusetts’ large minimum lot-size requirements increase home prices and reduce new production. One Harvard study found that in Greater Boston, a quarter-acre increase in the minimum lot-size requirement was associated with 10 percent fewer homes permitted between 1980 and 2002. Separately, a 2011 study found that Eastern Massachusetts minimum lot-size requirements can increase home prices by as much as 20 percent or more and that these price effects tend to increase over time.
Other states have acted on such facts amid a nationwide housing crunch. In June, Maine capped minimum lot sizes in “designated growth areas” statewide at 5,000 square feet when served by public sewer and water systems. This is remarkable given that Maine has both a less severe housing shortage than Massachusetts and a much larger volume of undeveloped, inexpensive land.
The Massachusetts Legislature has tried to enhance the production of starter homes before, offering incentive payments under Chapter 40Y to municipalities to adopt new zoning districts that allow for them. But more than three years after Chapter 40Y was enacted, the state has yet to finalize regulations that would allow for these zoning districts to be created. Meanwhile, builders struggle to justify much new construction given high interest rates, tariffs on building materials, and labor shortages in the trades.
Our ballot petition creates a framework for allowing starter homes that is more easily implemented and doesn’t require municipalities to adopt new zoning. And unlike the MBTA Communities Act, it would solely allow for the creation of single-family homes, most of which would probably be owner-occupied.
Recent public polling data, research findings, precedents in other states, and the urgent and extreme nature of Massachusetts’ housing shortage all suggest that now is the right time to limit minimum lot sizes in places with sufficient infrastructure for new housing. The result could be a far-reaching expansion of opportunity for a new generation of homeowners in Massachusetts.
As libraries across western Massachusetts celebrate National Library Week from April 19 to April 25, they are honoring “the last real third space where everyone is welcome,” in the words of Greenfield Public Library Assistant Director Lisa Prolman.
According to the American Library Association, National Library Week is “an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries and library professionals play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities.” This year, several libraries in the region will be hosting events to highlight the roles they play in their communities.
The Athol Public Library is among the venues engaging in National Library Week festivities, with a whole host of events starting on Tuesday, April 21, with Silly Goose Story Time at 10:30 a.m. The library will hold multiple events each day, including “Free Book Friday” on April 24, which Assistant Director Robin Shtulman said is “really fantastic.”
Shtulman said the week celebrates and emphasizes the “freedom to read, community outreach and celebrating the staff, without whom nothing would happen.”
The Athol Public Library said in an event announcement that “whatever brings you joy, the library has something for everyone,” and that aspect is being emphasized this National Library Week. To name a few of the events on tap, on Tuesday, April 21, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., there’s a volunteer opportunity where teens will make greeting cards for senior citizens; “A Minecraft Movie” will be shown at the same date and time; and on Thursday, April 23, the library will host Scavenger Hunt Bingo for all ages. For a full list of events at the Athol Public Library, visit atholpubliclibrary.com.
In Shelburne Falls, the Arms Library will feature a gallery from the Carlos Heiligmann Collection, a series of photos of public libraries across western Massachusetts. Also in collaboration with the Arms Library, Pothole Pictures and the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club will partner for a screening of “Free For All: The Public Library” on Saturday, April 25, at 2 p.m. at the Shelburne Falls Theater at Memorial Hall.
The documentary focuses on the evolution of the public library from its origins in the 19th century and the challenges it faces today, with modern-day issues such as book bans, funding cuts and debates over censorship.
It also explores the role that women’s clubs, like the one in Shelburne Falls, played in creating the modern library system. To serve their communities, women’s clubs took the lead in fundraising, collecting books and advocating for library legislation.
“Our women’s club in this town started with a group of 60 women who were gathering for lessons. … Because of the support of women in the U.S., we established over 80% of the public libraries [in the country],” said Christin Couture, program chair for the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club. “This film … I hear it’s so fascinating.”
Following the film’s screening, there will be a panel of local librarians who will engage in “lively conversation” about the history and future of public libraries. Tickets are $6, though school-age children will be admitted for free.
In Charlemont, Tyler Memorial Library will host an open house on Saturday, April 25, from noon to 2 p.m. featuring refreshments, a tour of the library and sun catcher crafting.
The Greenfield Public Library, meanwhile, is taking National Library Week in a bit of a different direction, as it is offering a book repair demonstration with Tom Hutcheson on Thursday, April 23, at 3:30 p.m. The day marks William Shakespeare’s birthday.
Although the book repair session required registration and is currently full, those who are interested may be placed on a waiting list at greenfieldpl.libcal.com/event/16460179.
Greenfield Public Library Director Anna Bognolo recognized the hard work that everyone has put into making the library a success, offering a “huge thank you” to the volunteers and staff who make its varied offerings possible.
“Stop by and support your library,” Bognolo said.
“Libraries, especially in this economy, are more important than ever,” Prolman said. Referencing the library’s role as a place where community members can go that is not work or home, she added, “They are the last real third space where everyone is welcome, and we don’t charge you for being here.”
Massachusetts
New Bedford MS-13 Member, Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Role in Brutal Murders In Massachusetts, Virginia
Frankli
Police shot and killed a man who officials say rushed officers with a knife during a call in Lexington, Massachusetts, on Saturday.
Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said the situation started around 1:40 p.m. when Lexington police received a 911 call from a resident of Mason Street reporting that his son had injured himself with a knife.
Officers from the Lexington Police Department and officers from the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC), who were already in town for Patriots’ Day events, responded to the call.
Police were able to escort two other residents out of the home, initially leaving a 26-year-old man inside. According to Ryan, while officers were setting up outside, the man ran out of the home and approached officers with a large kitchen knife.
She added that police tried twice to use non-lethal force, but it was not effective in stopping him. The man was shot by a Wilmington police officer who is a member of NEMLEC. The man was pronounced dead on scene and the officer who fired that shot was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.
The man’s name has not been released.
Ryan said typically in a call like this where someone was described as harming themselves, officers would first try to separate anyone else to keep them out of danger, which was done, and then standard practice would be to try to wait outside.
“It would be their practice to just wait for the person to come out. In the terrible circumstances of today, he suddenly rushed the officers, still clutching the knife,” Ryan said.
The investigation is still in the preliminary stages and more information is expected in time. Ryan said her office will request a formal inquest from the court to review whether any criminal conduct has occurred, which is the standard process.
This happened around the same time as the annual Patriots’ Day Parade, and just hours after a reenactment of the Battle of Lexington, which drew large crowds to town.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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