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Bill H.5000
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No. 5000
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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INITIATIVE PETITION OF
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.
BOSTON, JANUARY 3, 2018.
Timothy Carroll
Clerk of the House of Representatives
State House
Boston, Massachusetts 02133
Sincerely,
WILLIAM FRANCIS GALVIN
Secretary of the Commonwealth.
AN INITIATIVE PETITION.
Pursuant to Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, as amended, the undersigned qualified voters of the Commonwealth, ten in number at least, hereby petition for the enactment into law of the following measure:
FILED ON: 2/4/2026
SECTION 1.
Section 3 of chapter 40A of the Massachusetts General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:
No zoning ordinance or by-law shall prohibit, unreasonably restrict or require a special permit or other discretionary zoning approval for the use of land or structures for a single-family residence in a zoning district that allows residential uses; provided, that the single-family residence is fully contained within a lot measuring equal to or greater than five thousand square feet in area and with equal to or greater than fifty feet of frontage and which has access to public sewer service and public water service; and provided further, that the use of land or structures for such a single-family residence under this paragraph may be subject to reasonable regulations, including, but not limited to, regulations concerning dimensional setbacks and the bulk and height of structures and may be subject to restrictions and prohibitions on short-term rental. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities may issue guidelines or promulgate regulations to administer this paragraph.
SECTION 2.
This act shall take effect as provided in Article 48 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, as amended.
FIRST TEN SIGNERS
Name
Residence
City or Town
CERTIFICATE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
Honorable William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1705
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
RE:
Initiative Petition No. 25-03: An Act to allow single-family homes on small lots in areas with adequate infrastructure
Dear Secretary Galvin:
In accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, I have reviewed the above-referenced initiative petition, which was submitted to me on or before the first Wednesday of August of this year.
I hereby certify that this measure is in proper form for submission to the people; that the measure is not, either affirmatively or negatively, substantially the same as any measure which has been qualified for submission or submitted to the people at either of the two preceding biennial state elections; and that it contains only subjects that are related or are mutually dependent and which are not excluded from the initiative process pursuant to Article 48, the Initiative, Part 2, Section 2.
In accordance with Article 48, I enclose a fair, concise summary of the measure.
Sincerely,
INSPECTOR GENERAL,
Attorney General.
Summary of 25-03.
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