Lawmakers and communities should ease way for accessory dwelling units
I’m disappointed to hear that legislators in Massachusetts again have failed to legalize sensible housing solutions such as accessory dwelling units, or ADUs (“A housing solution as near as your backyard,” Page A1, Aug. 16). I grew up in a single-family home in a neighborhood of Newton where some residents are very concerned with nebulous concepts such as a community’s “character.” The house my parents bought in the early 1990s already had a garage apartment, which they rented to a number of different tenants in the almost 30 years they lived there.
When I was in middle school, the man who lived above our garage would play basketball with me and my brothers. Other tenants became close with my parents and would watch the cats when our family was away. These tenants were as vital a part of our community as the neighbors who owned the homes next door.
ADUs are a great way to help alleviate the Commonwealth’s housing shortage, and the tenants who end up living in them aren’t any less deserving if they aren’t blood relatives of the property owner. Massachusetts legislators — and city and town policy makers — should ease permitting restrictions to allow for construction of ADUs across the state.
Cliff Bargar
San Francisco
Focus instead on expanding rail options for Central, Western Mass.
I agree with the sentiment expressed in Andrew Brinker’s article that allowing people to use their existing properties to create more housing is a great option to help reduce home prices. However, writing legislation to override local zoning ordinances to legalize ADUs statewide would be a mistake, just as the multifamily zoning requirement for “MBTA Communities” is (“After protest, state eases housing rules around T,” Business, Aug. 12).
I understand that it is tempting for the state to create incentives for more housing through legislation rather than through any investment of state resources. Yet throughout Central and Western Massachusetts there are communities suffering from a lack of investment. These are communities where housing is less expensive but jobs are few. The state has a $3.6 billion budget surplus for this past fiscal year. Rather than send that money back to taxpayers, we should be investing in high-speed rail options for these communities.
Easy access to Boston is what makes housing in Greater Boston so expensive. Improving access for the neglected communities in Central and Western Massachusetts would revitalize these areas while reducing housing costs for all of us.
Barry Bergman
Newton
A new building with steps — for a 90-year-old?
I was shocked to see the photo of an accessory dwelling unit for a 90-year-old that showed steps to enter. This seems to illustrate the continuing fondness here for steps in housing, as builders continue to construct Colonial-style houses, which include steps between the floors within. Senior citizens are looking for ranch houses, as was recently reported in this newspaper (“Key cog in home sales can’t move,” Page A1, July 31).
Ruth Rosensweig
Canton
Read More: Could an add-on solution figure in the state’s housing policy?