Housing Crisis on Cape Cod
Cape Cod, long celebrated for its picturesque coastline and charming small towns, is facing an escalating housing crisis that threatens not only residents' financial stability but also the fiscal health of the towns themselves. This crisis stems largely from a chronic shortage of housing supply, restrictive zoning regulations that favor large-lot single-family homes, and a lack of creative development solutions, creating market conditions that residents have described as "harrowing," with dual income families facing homelessness.
Without significant zoning reform and innovative approaches to housing, Cape Cod's towns will struggle to maintain infrastructure without imposing dramatic tax increases.
The demand for housing on Cape Cod far exceeds supply, driving up home prices and rental costs. This issue has been exacerbated by an influx of remote workers and retirees seeking refuge from urban centers, further squeezing an already constrained market. While demand has surged, new housing construction has not kept pace, leading to skyrocketing costs that make homeownership and renting increasingly unattainable for middle- and working-class residents.
The result is an affordability crisis that forces many essential workers — teachers, nurses, tradespeople, and service industry employees — to either endure long commutes or leave the region entirely. This workforce depletion is not just a personal burden; it weakens local economies and businesses that rely on year-round staffing. It impacts families who have lived on Cape Cod for generations: exchanging a way of life for long time locals for second homes on large lots that sit empty with lights on timers, irrigation systems and pool filters running, as an investment for owners who visit only a few weeks out of the year.
Zoning laws are creating and maintaining this crisis. Cape Cod zoning codes mandate large minimum lot sizes, extensive setback requirements, and in some cases restrictions on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), all of which limit the ability to create diverse and affordable housing stock. This has neither preserved the traditional patterns of Cape Cod's village centers and rural areas, nor has it provided a functional housing market that residents can afford.
Frequently, residents have aggressively resisted efforts to revise zoning laws. Without immediate and transformational reform to existing zoning and development policy, Cape Cod's beloved landscape, natural places, and deep cultural heritage and community will continue to erode.
Two parents, both working steady jobs – they're probably not the first people you think of when you imagine someone who's experiencing homelessness, but increasingly, that's the face of homelessness on Cape Cod.
— News article, Housing Assistance on Cape Cod, Sept 30, 2023
Housing Mismatch
Housing supply is not the only issue created by zoning. 86% of Cape Cod land is already developed or protected. The remaining 14% of land is not all developable. Infill of existing developed land is the only viable solution to providing the current projected 33,597 housing unit gap (CCC 2017 Regional Housing Market Analysis, Barnstable County, MA). Even if Cape Cod were suddenly provided with thousands more acres of buildable land, requiring housing to be built as detached single family homes misunderstands the fundamental demographics of Cape residents.
The most common household type on Cape Cod is a couple living together with no children (a whopping 55% of households). The next most common household type is a single person living alone (30% of Cape Cod households). This means 85% of Cape Cod households are one or two people, often sleeping in one bed at night, while 67% of houses are three bedrooms or more (2023 US Census Tables B11012 and S2504).
Zoning is requiring people to buy significantly more house than they may need, want, or be able to afford by allowing only large homes to be built. While the household size continues to shrink, even if the total population continues to decline we will continue to experience a housing shortage. The household size is less than half what it was when much of the 1940s and 1950s zoning was written on Cape Cod. As the household size cuts in half, we double the number of units required to house the same population even before we see any population growth. The only solution to addressing housing affordability and creating alignment between household needs and housing availability is to allow many more individual dwelling units, which are each much smaller.
A Looming Financial Crisis
The housing shortage is not just a problem for individuals seeking affordable homes; it also poses a growing fiscal challenge for towns. Without an expanded tax base from new housing developments, municipalities must rely on higher property taxes to fund essential services and infrastructure maintenance. Cape Cod's aging infrastructure — roads, bridges, sewer systems, and public facilities — requires significant investment. Without new housing to increase the number of contributing taxpayers, towns will be forced to either defer maintenance (leading to more expensive repairs later) or drastically raise taxes on existing homeowners and businesses. The latter option risks pushing out even more middle-income residents, accelerating a cycle of displacement.
Sewer Infrastructure
Water quality has been devastated by the low density pattern impact of most homes utilizing septic systems. Centralized sewer systems and modern utilities are not just technical upgrades — they are critical investments in the future resilience and fiscal health of Cape Cod's towns. Replacing aging septic systems with sewer allows denser, mixed-use development that spreads the cost of infrastructure across a larger number of users. This model ensures that every new resident or business contributes to the maintenance and further improvement of public services, ultimately lowering per-capita costs and reducing the financial burden on any single taxpayer. Modern sewer systems can more effectively treat wastewater, reducing harmful nitrogen and other pollutants from leaching into sensitive groundwater and coastal ecosystems. This is crucial for protecting the fragile natural environment of Cape Cod, which is already under stress from nutrient overloads and septic system failures. Cleaner water means healthier estuaries, more resilient marine life, and a safer drinking water supply for residents.
Funding sources have been identified to begin to retrofit communities with sanitary sewer systems, but the costs of these systems when installed on low density developments will be staggering long term. Homes on sewer systems should ideally be placed close together, and close to the street, to reduce the length of lines between them and reduce the length of lateral lines serving the units. A low-density development pattern creates increased length of pipe per unit and exponentially increases the initial install cost per user. It also exponentially increases the surface area of total pipe underground with potential to leak.
As systems age, approximately 40%–50% of the volume treated in most sanitary sewer is what is called "I&I" (or in-flow and infiltration), though for newer systems like most on the Cape, this is likely closer to 10% initially. In-flow is clean water that enters the system through rain leaders, basement pumps or foundation pumps illicitly connected to sanitary sewer pipes. Infiltration is groundwater that leaks into sanitary sewer pipes. Combined, they significantly reduce the volume that can be treated by a sewer system.
As sanitary sewer systems are planned and installed, it is critical that zoning is updated to allow for this improvement to occur. The strategic modernization of utilities is about creating resilient communities where infrastructure is built to last and evolves with changing needs. Cape Cod's current reliance on septic systems not only burdens individual homeowners but also stifles economic growth by limiting development options. By shifting to a centralized, modern sewer system, towns can stimulate more varied and affordable housing options while protecting their natural resources. This bold change supports both environmental stewardship and economic viability, ensuring that Cape Cod remains a place where people can live, work, and thrive — now and for future generations.
Adequate Housing Is a Civic Good
Victory Cottages
The idea of providing additional housing on your lot when you can should be promoted as an important civic duty of residents in a position to be able to do so. Americans grew Victory Gardens and rolled bandages and bought war bonds as statements of their civic pride and dedication during wartime. The housing crisis has reached such severity that it is threatening a generational way of life for residents of Cape Cod. Providing housing has become this decade's victory garden. Renting out rooms, building an ADU, or adding a detached bedroom to provide housing for neighbors and workers and the children of families who have lived on Cape Cod for generations should be not only allowed but seen as the vital public service that it is.