Good morning,

“There has never been a better time in America to be old,” the Wall Street Journal declared a few weeks ago. (free link)

As of the third quarter of last year, Americans 70 and older held about 39% of household equities and mutual funds, up from 22% in 2007, according to the Federal Reserve. They also accounted for 32% of total household net worth, compared with 20% two decades ago.

Now compare that to another WSJ story (free link) from last week.

“Inheritance is one of the last reliable ways for younger Californians to own their first home,” the Journal reported.

Nearly 60,000 homes in the state — about 18% of all transfers last year — changed hands through inheritance, a record share dating back to 1995 and up from 12% in 2019.

California is likely not all that different from Massachusetts, particularly in our west suburban communities.

Is that really the kind of place we want to be?

Hate teardowns? Love this idea

Two Newton City Councilors floated an idea last week that could boost the supply of smaller, more affordable homes for those younger families, while also advancing climate goals and curbing teardowns.

Councilor Pam Wright and Council President John Oliver suggested allowing owners of large houses to convert them into up to four units, with modest additions allowed in back, provided the existing façade is preserved.

Translation: keep the older house and skip the teardown-to-McMansion cycle that current zoning incentivizes — and that pretty much everyone in your neighborhood will likely hate.

Adaptive reuse of large homes by right has already shown promise under Newton’s MBTA Communities Act compliance plan. Though that option applies to just 2% of Newton’s land, it has led to more than a dozen projects creating 49 units (34 of them net new) with most retaining the original structure, according to a recent Boston Indicators report by Amy Dain.

Last week, Wright and Oliver suggested allowing the same zoning change citywide.

Councilors Susan Albright and Sean Roche (who are often on the opposite side of housing/zoning debates from Wright and Oliver) both indicated enthusiasm for the reform. So maybe this has a chance.

As Roche put it, the proposal “allows us to better achieve our housing and climate goals…while maintaining the property owners' equity and maybe even increasing it.”

Here’s another good idea….

If you support creating smaller, more naturally affordable homes on lots that might otherwise accommodate a McMansion, also take a look at the Legalize Starter Homes ballot question expected to go before voters in November.

It would allow single-family homes on any residential lot with at least 5,000 SF, 50 feet of frontage and access to public water and sewer. Many communities currently require 5,000 SF or larger to build a home, so this, too, could be a game changer.

…and a very bad idea…

On the flip side, did you read Shirley Leung’s Globe interview with developer Jeff Kanne, who says he’s pressing pause on new housing projects here because of Massachusetts proposed rent control ballot question and other hurdles?

Kanne points to what happened in an affluent suburban Maryland county after it adopted rent control: 54 building permits issued in eight months, compared with 2,093 multifamily homes the year before the law took effect.

Tuesday grab bag

• The Newton Centre Plaza will live to see another summer. Last night, the City Council rejected an effort to shut it down sooner, 15-9.  (Newton Beacon)
  
  
• It’s election day in Wellesley. Polls close at 8 p.m. Swellesley Report has the deets.
  
  
• Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s Know Your Rights guide is designed to help immigrants, employers, families and others understand their rights and the basic legal framework for ICE actions.  The guide points to resources for service providers, health care providers, K-12 schools, higher ed, and more.
  
  
• WCVB Channel 5’s Antoinette Antonio will moderate our fireside chat with Martha J. Sheridan, President & CEO of Meet Boston, March 13, 8:30 a.m. at Charles River Country Club.  Details.
  
  
• Watertown City Manager George Proakis will provide an update on the city with a particular focus on the business community at a Watertown Business Coalition event on Thursday (March 5), 8 a.m. Details
  
  
• The Maimonides School is considering selling its four-acre campus on Philbrick Road off Route 9 in Chestnut Hill. (Brookline News)
  
  
• Watertown biotech Disc Medicine Inc. is laying off about 20% of its workforce after the FDA denied approval of its drug for a rare blood disease. (BBJ)
  
  
• MassDOT’s failed attempt to find a new operator for 18 highway service plazas across the state was filled with flaws that “undermined the integrity” of the process, says Inspector General Jeffery Shapiro. (State House News)
  
  
• Just Saladand Indian street food restaurant Madras Dosa Co. have opened at The Street at Chestnut Hill.
  
  
• It’s 41 days until Spring Seasonings. Be there for both the food and the community.
  
  
• By day, Watertown’s Brian Daly works in marketing for a local law firm.  By night, he asks bartenders to play Bob Seger. His successes and failures are posted on Instagram and TikTok. (Boston Globe)
  
  
• Given the severity of recent storms and roadside snow piles limiting space, Watertown’s overnight winter parking ban remains in effect until further notice.  It was going to end on March 1.
  
  
• Novo Nordisk is turning to a biotech cofounded by Newton serial biotech entrepreneur Robert Langer for help developing oral drugs for conditions such as obesity and diabetes.  Vivtex’s deal with the Danish pharma giant is worth a possible $2.1 billion (BBJ)
  
  
• Sen. Becca Rausch will host a Small Business Roundtable with Financial Services Committee Chair Sen. Paul Feeney, on Friday (March 6), 11 a.m.  RSVP

Newton schools seek broker feedback

Are you a residential real estate agent?

Newton Public Schools wants to connect with you.

Superintendent Anna Nolin hopes to give brokers the tools to promote Newton's schools to prospective homebuyers or renters. She also wants your feedback: What are house hunters asking? What's driving decisions? What could NPS do better to attract families?

With NPS experiencing decades-low enrollment, your answers matter (as does all the smaller homes stuff I wrote about earlier).

Realtors will have the chance to engage directly with district leadership on March 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Newton North High School. RSVP

A latte process, not much progress in Watertown

Last week, the Watertown City Council was set — again — to pass a Skip the Stuff ordinance.

Instead, they skipped the vote and sent it back to the committee. Again.

Already adopted in Newton, Needham, Wellesley and elsewhere, the policy simply requires restaurants to provide utensils, condiments and other single-use items only upon request or via self-service.

Less waste. Lower costs. Good for the planet.  Good for businesses.

In Watertown, though, an overly ambitious version has been lingering since October — tripped up by procedural missteps, added plastic bans and, last week, a letter from the Disability Commission. The commission worries that requiring customers to request a splash stick (those little plugs that keep a hot to-go beverage from spilling) puts the city’s large visually impaired population at risk of burns.

We made a similar point a few weeks earlier, urging the subcommittee to remove splash sticks and coffee sleeves from Skip the Stuff. An ordinance meant to cut waste shouldn’t create accessibility or food safety problems.

But the committee kept both items in.

After the commission’s letter, Council President Mark Sideris sent it back for another review. They’ll try again next month and, who knows, maybe sometime this summer too.

That’s what you need to know for today — it’s Purim — unless you need to know why sneakers squeak on a basketball court. 

I value your feedback. Be back Friday.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.