Ballot status and zoning figures in this post are current as of October 8, 2026. Voters decide Question 7 on November 3, so this post is due for a review the week after the vote, and again when the state issues guidance.
Question 7 on the November 3 Massachusetts ballot would override the minimum lot size that Belmont sets for a single-family home and put a statewide test in its place: 5,000 square feet, 50 feet of frontage, and public sewer and water. Here is what Belmont requires today, how to tell whether your lot could hold a second house if the measure passes, and what the vote means if you plan to sell soon.
- Question 7 on the November 3, 2026 Massachusetts ballot would bar local zoning from prohibiting, unreasonably restricting or requiring a special permit for a single-family home on a lot of at least 5,000 square feet with at least 50 feet of frontage and access to public sewer and water, per the initiative petition text published on mass.gov.
- Belmont's Zoning By-Law, Section 4.2.1, sets minimum lots of 9,000 square feet with 75 feet of frontage in the SR-C district, 12,000 square feet with 90 feet in SR-B, and 25,000 square feet with 125 feet in SR-A and SR-D, per the bylaw as posted by the Belmont Planning Board.
- Tufts University's Center for State Policy Analysis estimates Question 7 would add roughly 750 homes a year statewide, within a range of 350 to 1,200, concentrated in Boston-area suburbs with sewer service and lots large enough to split, per its 2026 analysis of the starter home question.
- A law passed by ballot initiative in Massachusetts takes effect 30 days after the state election unless it names another date, per the state's guide to the effective dates of laws, which puts Question 7's start in early December 2026 if voters approve it.
What would Question 7 change for a Belmont lot?
For a single-family home on a lot with at least 5,000 square feet, 50 feet of frontage and public sewer and water, Belmont could no longer require a bigger lot, more frontage or a special permit. Belmont's other rules for that house, such as setbacks and height, would still apply if they are reasonable, and a lot that misses any one of the three tests stays exactly where it is today.
The measure adds a paragraph to Section 3 of Chapter 40A, the state zoning act, the same section that already makes a small accessory dwelling unit allowed by right, as our guide to the Massachusetts ADU law explains. Like the ADU rule, it would apply in every city and town except Boston, with no town meeting vote required.
That is the opposite of how the MBTA Communities law works. Under 3A, each town drew and adopted its own multifamily district, which Belmont did for Belmont Center and Waverley Square, and our MBTA 3A zoning hub tracks those districts town by town. Question 7 would reach every qualifying lot in a residential district at once.
Belmont keeps real tools. The petition lets a town apply reasonable rules on setbacks and on the bulk and height of buildings and restrict or ban short-term rentals, and it lets the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities write guidelines or regulations to run the law. The Massachusetts Municipal Association opposes the measure as a loss of local control, and no formal opposition committee has formed, per WBUR's October 7, 2026 report.
It covers single-family homes only, not two-families or apartments. If it fails, Belmont's rules stay as they are.
What is Belmont's minimum lot size today?
Belmont's single residence districts require between 9,000 and 25,000 square feet and between 75 and 125 feet of frontage for a house lot, so dividing a lot into two takes at least 18,000 square feet and 150 feet of frontage today. Under Question 7, a lot on public sewer and water would need 10,000 square feet and 100 feet in every one of those districts.
District | One house lot today | Two house lots today | Two house lots under Question 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
SR-A | 25,000 sq ft, 125 ft of frontage | 50,000 sq ft, 250 ft | 10,000 sq ft, 100 ft |
SR-B | 12,000 sq ft, 90 ft of frontage | 24,000 sq ft, 180 ft | 10,000 sq ft, 100 ft |
SR-C | 9,000 sq ft, 75 ft of frontage | 18,000 sq ft, 150 ft | 10,000 sq ft, 100 ft |
SR-D | 25,000 sq ft, 125 ft of frontage | 50,000 sq ft, 250 ft | 10,000 sq ft, 100 ft |
GR | 5,000 sq ft, 50 ft of frontage | 10,000 sq ft, 100 ft | 10,000 sq ft, 100 ft |
The General Residence district is the control case. Belmont already allows a 5,000 square foot single-family lot with 50 feet of frontage there, so Question 7 changes nothing in GR. The change is largest in SR-A and SR-D, where the land needed for two lots today is five times what Question 7 would ask.
Bulk limits are the part of Belmont's table most likely to survive. Section 4.2.1 caps lot coverage at 20 percent in SR-A and 25 percent in SR-B and SR-C, with at least 50 percent open space.
If a 25 percent cap applies to a new 5,000 square foot lot, the footprint tops out at 1,250 square feet, roughly a 2,500 square foot house on two floors. That is the starter home the campaign is named for, not an oversized new build.
How can you tell whether your Belmont lot could hold two houses?
Your lot is a candidate if it has at least 10,000 square feet, at least 100 feet of frontage on a street, public sewer and water, and a house positioned so a dividing line leaves both pieces inside Belmont's setbacks. Miss any one of the four and the answer is no, whatever the vote.
Frontage is usually the number that binds. A 25,000 square foot SR-A lot with 125 feet of frontage has the area for five lots under Question 7 but the frontage for only two, because each lot needs its own 50 feet on the street. New frontage means a new road, which turns a lot split into a full subdivision, a far longer and costlier project.
Sewer and water are rarely the obstacle in Belmont. The town is one of the MWRA sewer member communities named in EPA's 2023 draft permit for the Deer Island treatment plant, as are Newton, Lexington, Waltham, Watertown, Arlington and Melrose. Confirm service at your own address anyway, because the test is the lot's access, not the town's.
The existing house is the real puzzle. A house centered on a 100 foot wide lot sits across the line that would divide it, so the split only works if the house comes down or already sits close to one side. Corner lots, wide lots with a deep side yard, and houses pushed to one edge are where the geometry tends to work. Dividing land still runs through the planning board, and setbacks stay local.
What Question 7 means if you own or are selling a Belmont house on a large lot
If you plan to sell a Belmont house on 10,000 square feet or more with 100 feet of frontage in the next year, the November 3 vote can change who your buyer is and what the land is worth to them. Today a builder looking at that lot prices one house. If Question 7 passes and takes effect in early December, the same lot may price as two buildable lots.
Take a house on a 12,000 square foot SR-B lot with 100 feet of frontage. Dividing it today would take 24,000 square feet and 180 feet, so it is one lot. Under Question 7 it clears the test for two, at 6,000 square feet and 50 feet each, if the house can sit on one half inside the setbacks or comes down.
In a town where the median home sold for $1,421,559 in August 2026, per Redfin, a second buildable lot is not a rounding error, which makes timing a real decision.
Signing with a builder at a one-lot price before the vote hands any upside to the buyer. A seller can wait for the result, list after it, or negotiate terms that account for it, and the right call depends on whether the lot passes all four tests.
If you are not selling, there is nothing to do before November 3 except know your numbers. A March 2026 YouGov poll paid for by Abundant Housing Massachusetts, which backs the measure, found 58 percent in favor and 21 percent opposed, per Banker and Tradesman, so plan for both outcomes.
Land and building value already move separately inside 3A districts, as our look at the MBTA 3A effect on property values lays out. Question 7 would extend that split to ordinary single-family streets, one qualifying lot at a time.
Frequently asked questions about Question 7 in Belmont
What is Question 7 on the 2026 Massachusetts ballot?
Question 7 is a proposed state law on the November 3, 2026 ballot that would allow a single-family home by right on any residentially zoned lot of at least 5,000 square feet with at least 50 feet of frontage and public sewer and water, in every Massachusetts city and town except Boston.
What is the minimum lot size in Belmont, MA?
Belmont's Zoning By-Law requires 9,000 square feet and 75 feet of frontage in the SR-C district, 12,000 square feet and 90 feet in SR-B, 25,000 square feet and 125 feet in SR-A and SR-D, and 5,000 square feet and 50 feet for a single-family lot in the General Residence district.
When would Question 7 take effect?
If voters approve Question 7 on November 3, 2026, it takes effect 30 days after the election, in early December 2026, under the state's rule for laws passed by initiative petition.
Can Belmont still set rules for homes built under Question 7?
Belmont could still apply reasonable rules on setbacks, building bulk and height, and short-term rentals, and the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities could issue guidelines or regulations on how the law applies.
Does Question 7 allow two-family homes or apartments on small lots?
No, Question 7 covers single-family homes only, so Belmont's rules for two-family and multifamily buildings would not change.
Could I split my Belmont lot if Question 7 passes?
A Belmont lot with at least 10,000 square feet, 100 feet of street frontage and public sewer and water could be divided into two lots that each meet the Question 7 test, provided the existing house and any new house both fit within Belmont's setback rules.
The next step if you own a Belmont house on a large lot
Ask for a two-way valuation: what your house sells for as it stands, and what the land is worth if Question 7 lets it divide into two qualifying lots. PH Realty Group checks your lot's area, frontage, sewer and water service and setbacks against the 5,000 square foot and 50 foot test, then prices both outcomes, so you know before November 3 whether the vote changes your sale.
Start with a home valuation from PH Realty Group. Builders and investors weighing Belmont lots can reach the same team through our Greater Boston investing page.
Ethan Piani-Hohmann, PH Realty Group, (781) 879-0863, [email protected].
