ADUs, Tiny Homes, & the Wild West: a Frontier Market with Town Planning Departments Spiraling
I won’t belabor these points.
I went into a Massachusetts town hall today, of which town I won’t mention – to meet directly with the Building Commissioner or the administrator to ask a handful of questions I had typed out and printed as it relates to building, developing, and hooking up an ADU (accessory dwelling unit).
Let me create the picture – the Building Department is in the basement of the town hall with the white tile and sterile hallway – a large piece of plexiglass sitting on top of a counter with a cutout at the counter level for speaking or passing documents. I can see a younger woman and older man in the back room with a small conference table and chairs.
They see me and come to the window – the woman then quickly sitting at her desk to let Joe Frank do the talking.
I wasn’t invited to sit at the table and chairs. I was barely able to introduce myself as Joe Frank stood staring down at me with his arms crossed - like I was a child being scolded – even though I’m a full adult, asking a few simple questions about ADUs – as if there wasn’t a new law passed last Aug 2024 about them.
“…well, ya, what’dya wanna know about ‘em”?
As he goes on to provide short, curt, and blunt answers – and scoffing multiple times – once when I asked about alternative waste management options, and then after I handed him our business card before he glanced smugly at it and threw it on the table.
Buddy, can you calm down? Do you need a hug from your mom?
After a few conversations with the building departments in Windham, Derry, and Londonderry earlier in the week — this less than 10-minute interaction in MA leads me to believe towns are and continue to be a significant contributing cause to the housing crisis. While approving hundred-lot luxury condos, the Building Commissioner has the ability to approve or deny tiny home / ADU builds, but could barely hold the conversation without losing his mind. Joe Frank nearly spit out his lip chew when I used the words “tiny house” instead of “ADU.”
It’s not our fault the town has WAITED for the state to pass laws in order to update their zoning and bylaws. Towns can opt to be at the forefront of the housing industry, and instead, it’s lagging behind, and as Building Commissioner you’re pissed off that they’ve changed the rules and now folks are asking questions. The law was passed last year in MA – a whole 12 months for the department to update and draft zoning amendments as needed and yet he complained the state just dropped the new law in their laps with no guidance.
Why you so mad, bro that someone wants to live in an ADU? And even more so, why so resistant to them as primary or secondary dwellings? I completely understand there are nuances to be thought-through and worked out – not one doubt there – but again – make it make sense:
Median price of a single-family home in MA $630k
Median household income in MA $101k
The patriarchy stands tall and looming in town halls and building departments – literally and figuratively – blocking the way for inclusivity to home ownership and the ability to create community and lift up individuals and families that cannot otherwise afford a home with the gaping hole between income and housing prices. Joe Frank was telling me the minimum size is 900 square feet – which is not technically true based on the law – but he also wanted to make sure I heard his personal opinion which was, “900 square feet is small enough” – thank you, sir, I think your brain is small enough.
“Massachusetts needs to build an estimated 222,000 new homes within the next 10 years to address a significant housing shortage, according to a state analysis from February 2025. This ambitious goal is part of Governor Maura Healey's strategy to ease the housing crisis, though the state is currently behind the required pace of construction.”
The new state law legalizing ADUs allows up to 900 square feet, built by-right in single-family zoning districts, simplifying the permitting process and offering homeowners the option of adding rental income or housing for family members.
Today, talking with Joe Frank at the town hall, was not simple and not encouraging – for myself the builder or the homeowner. In fact, it was a reminder of the work that needs to be done and if anything, I left with a renewed passion for why this is so important and thinking of all the ways to get out from under the white man’s local and small town thumb.
Still, we rise.
