Recently the New York Times wrote about families struggling to afford both their cars and housing (How the Costs of Car Ownership Add Up, Oct. 6, 2023). The AAA has estimated that the average annual “cost of ownership” for a new car is now over $12,000.
Over the life of a 30-year mortgage a family that can get by with just 1 car might have at least $300,000 more to invest in a home than a family that needs 2 cars. But this depends on having homes available in locations that allow “car-light” living.
Happily, Newton has such locations! For the past 30+ years, our family has been able to raise 2 children and hold 2 jobs while never owning more than 1 car, partly because our 1500-square-foot house is between the D Line’s Waban and Woodland stops, less than a 15-minute walk from either.
Unfortunately, Newton’s current zoning incentivizes large, expensive homes in many such locations. In recent years, on nearby parcels even closer to the T than ours, 6 houses with an average of 3 bedrooms and 2,510 square feet were replaced or permitted for replacement by 9 new houses with an average of 6 bedrooms and 6,670 square feet, all built by right under our current zoning.
The proposed new village-center and MBTA zoning will allow many parcels in similar locations to be developed by right as multifamily housing, with units that will be smaller than most new single-family homes now being built by right in Newton. People who can afford 6 bedrooms and 6,670 square feet can afford to live almost anywhere in our city. In locations like ours, why not incentivize homes that people who cannot qualify for officially affordable, subsidized housing might nevertheless be able to afford -– IF they can live “car light”?
Alice E. Ingerson
Waban