How to Streamline Housing Permitting in Massachusetts

Introduction

Delays and uncertainty in the approval of proposed housing developments decrease total production and increase costs. To understand the existing permitting process for housing in the Bay State, we spoke to 22 planners, lawyers, developers, government officials, and scholars. The first half of this brief describes the underlying political economy of zoning and housing and the typical permitting and appeals processes. The second half proposes 11 detailed reform recommendations that we developed with our interviewees’ feedback.

A few of our interviewees have also engaged with the Governor’s Commission on Unlocking Housing Production, which has investigated many barriers to housing, including permitting. We applaud the Commission’s work and, as of this writing, eagerly anticipate its report. During our research process, several of the reforms we recommend in our paper were introduced as bills before the 194th General Court, which reflects the standing of our interviewees and the urgency with which lawmakers are seeking good ideas to address high housing costs.

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