K-12 enrollment is plummeting and state funding is tied to enrollment. Districts are begging for kids. We already covered this.The main reason to oppose housing is that more houses == more kids == more school expenses. This year - overrides are failing in a lot of towns, and there is talk about firing teachers, and reducing expenses.
I was brought up in a third world country but in a kind of progressive state. Public education is considered sacrosant - I dont know why these discussions even have to happen in the most educated state in the richest country.
If the state were to fund schools adequately in exchange for taking charge of zoning, maybe that would work?
But you're talking about SFH. This thread is about MUDs. People don't typically cross shop SFH and MUDs. And as we're seeing, there is a segment of people leaving MA because they can't afford SFH. Building MUDs isn't going to get them to stay.
This thread is about a policy designed to lower housing costs. It's not about net migration to/from MA (which, as I'd hope you know, continues to be only in the low positive in large part because of cost of living, whether owning or renting.) and how to increase it. You're taking a point about neighborhood character and changing the subject to something this thread isn't about.
As for SFH prices and MUD prices being unrelated, fine, let's have another basic lesson on how markets work. At the margin (think about all those childless couples you mentioned before) there are plenty of people who would rent or buy a condo within a MUD over a SFH at given prices. Those people are real. That impacts SFH prices. It's no different than the explosion of SFH suburbs making urban rents cheaper. When the building stopped and prices began steadily rising through the 80s, 90s, and 00s, urban rents became more and more attractive to young professionals who in decades prior might have bought a SFH. This is reflected in how the median age of first time home buyers has been rising since the, *surprise*, early 80s.