Blog
Land use proposals a good start
In testimony before the legislature this spring, MHP's Clark Ziegler said proposals to change the state's land use laws are a good start but don't go far enough to address the state's perpetual lack of housing production and corresponding slow growth. MHP's executive director advocates for a more comprehensive growth proposal that would include the creation of an office of state planning and the establishment of state and regional growth benchmarks that set clear expectations about how much housing is needed to sustain the state's economy. Ziegler testified:
The problem in a nutshell is that our 351 cities and towns, each with their own zoning codes and land use regulations, make decisions based on their own perceived interests. That is not how it works in most other states, where land use decisions are made at the regional level or where local decisions must be consistent with regional or state plans. It is widely accepted that Massachusetts needs to be an attractive place for families to live and for employers to expand and create new jobs, yet in our own individual cities and towns we typically make decisions that achieve just the opposite. We require mammoth building lots to limit the amount of housing that can be built, try to minimize the number of kids in our schools, and make it clear that while we recognize the need for housing in theory, we want it to happen in some other community.
In our view, the stage needs to be set now for a far more comprehensive examination of state growth policy. Toward that end, MHP has initiated a multi-year research and policy analysis project -- called Foundation for Growth -- to better understand the connection between housing, jobs and the state economy and to propose state growth policies to strengthen that connection.
To read Ziegler's entire testimony, click here.