A cottage comeback?

Clustered bungalows could fill a housing niche, a builder says, but critics see burdened schools

Similar to cottages being proposed in three developments south of Boston, the neighborhood of Umatilla Hill in Port Townsend, Wash., includes 10 garden-courtyard bungalows. (Ross Chapin Architects Photo)

Long before condos or McMansions or mobile homes, there were cottages: cozy, 1 1/2-story dwellings set on postage stamp lots in the country or near a beach.

An Easton developer is trying to bring this form of housing, most commonly found in vacation areas in the United States, back to the future in Massachusetts. Nick Mirrione has proposed three 28-cottage housing developments south of Boston - one in Easton, another in West Bridgewater, and one that straddles the border of the two towns.

The homes would be less than 1,000 square feet each with one or two bedrooms and detached one-car garages. There would be no basements or attics, and the second floor or "half story" would be built into the pitched roof, which would require occupants to duck when they approach a wall.

Houses in the developments would be clustered, seven per acre and each with a tiny yard. Most would be priced between $245,000 and $345,000.

"They are very attractive, very traditional," said Mirrione, whose firm, Mirrione Realty, has built conventional single-family and condominium developments south of Boston. "We think they will provide a very safe, secure environment for a segment of the market that is not being addressed."

Mirrione said the homes are designed for young single or married professionals without children and empty nesters. Many owners would be first-time buyers, who otherwise would be unable to afford a newly built house, according to the developer.

Cottage housing in its latest incarnation has caught on in recent years in Washington state, where there are several projects. There also are scattered new cottage housing developments elsewhere in the country.

But in his quest to reintroduce cottage housing to Massachusetts, Mirrione has run into a pretty big obstacle: The towns don't want them. Earlier this year, town meetings in Easton and West Bridgewater rejected zoning exceptions that would let the town allow cottages in residential and business areas with a special permit from the planning board.

So now, Mirrione is resorting to a conventional backup plan of developers in Massachusetts: seeking approval of the projects under the state affordable housing law, known as 40B. The law allows developers to bypass local zoning in communities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is classified as affordable. Neither Easton nor West Bridgewater has reached the 10 percent threshold.

A 2005 town-sponsored report on affordable housing found that Easton has a higher percentage - 83 percent - of renters who are "cost-burdened small families" than other communities in its south-of-Boston region. In Easton, the most recent median price of a single family home is $370,000, according to real estate information publisher Warren Group; in West Bridgewater is it $310,000.

In the two outlying suburbs, opponents of Mirrione's plans argue that the projects are too dense and out of character with the communities. They also say that the developments would strain town services.

"When you have seven houses on an acre, there's not going to be a lot of open space," said Easton resident Kyla Bennett. "It goes against the build-out plans of the town."

Mirrione said the developments would not burden local school systems. Because the cottages are so small and cannot be expanded, few residents would have children, he said.

Critics are skeptical. "It's going to impact the schools," said Bennett. "What if someone gets pregnant, are you going to kick them out?"

Pat Ciaramella, executive director of the Old Colony Planning Council regional planning agency, said the concept of cottage housing is appealing, but he foresees problems in towns with that already have overburdened school systems and no municipal sewer or water.

"In many of these smaller communities, the septic systems are failing now," Ciaramella said. "The cost of education will be a concern to the communities. Even though it's one or two bedrooms, you could still have one or two kids there."

Mirrione said he expects to file formal Chapter 40B applications in the next few weeks. Once the projects are finished and people see what they are like, communities will be more accepting of them in the future, he said.

"My thinking is to get these projects built and use them as models," Mirrione said.

Under Chapter 40B, a developer must reserve 25 percent of units for people with low or moderate incomes. Mirrione said the affordable cottages in his developments would sell for between $125,000 and $147,000.

A coalition of suburban activists that want their towns to have more control over development has started a petition drive for the November 2008 ballot to repeal Chapter 40B. Mirrione said he believes he can get his needed approvals before repeal of the law could be approved.

While each house in Mirrione's colonies would have a small outdoor area big enough for a barbecue, the common areas would be owned and maintained by condominium-style associations.

The term cottage was first applied to small dwellings in the countryside in medieval Europe. In the United States, cottages are associated with beach or lake houses.

Mirrione said his planned homes will be bungalows that look like traditional cottages of Cape Cod, only more sturdily built and conform to modern building standards. He said he has studied the success of cottage housing elsewhere and believes it would work in Massachusetts.

"We're always looking for an edge in the market and trying to build what other people are not building," Mirrione said.

Diane Pisciotta, spokeswoman for the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts, said the organization supports the idea behind cottage housing.

"We're eager to build smaller homes on smaller lots, but in most places, the zoning won't allow it," Pisciotta said. "We believe there is a market for it."

The idea of smaller homes also appeals to some environmental and affordable housing activists.

"For a single person or an elderly couple, you don't need 3,000 square feet," said Sarah Susanka, a Minneapolis architect and author of "The Not So Big House."

"There are a lot of people who would like a small house but not cheap in the sense of the bottom of the market."

Ted Carman is president of Concord Square Planning and Development of Boston and consultant to the Commonwealth Housing Task Force, a civic group studying housing solutions. He said modestly priced housing like what Mirrione is proposing is needed in Massachusetts.

"This kind of density with houses that are small could make very attractive neighborhoods," Carman said.

Robert Preer can be reached at preer@globe.com.