Questions 7 and 8 on Tuesday's ballot: one skips Boston, the other would reach its 39 cannabis businesses

Two of the nine statewide questions on Tuesday's ballot deal with things Boston regulates itself: what can be built on a small lot, and where marijuana can be sold. Boston voters will weigh in on both, but the results would land very differently here.

Question 7: smaller lots, but not in Boston

Question 7 would set a statewide minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet for single-family homes on residential land that has public water and sewer service and at least 50 feet of frontage on a street, Boston 25 News explained. Communities that already allow smaller lots would not be affected.

It would do this by amending Chapter 40A, the state Zoning Act. That law does not apply to Boston, which has its own zoning code, so the question would not change what can be built here, according to Boston 25 and the Boston Globe.

Mayor Michelle Wu has endorsed the question anyway. "Cities and towns across the Commonwealth need every possible tool to expand housing options," she said, according to the Globe. The Massachusetts Municipal Association, which represents the state's 351 cities and towns, opposes it, saying it could override local control of land use, the Globe reported.

What our records add. Boston's own lot-size rules are already on the council's list. On June 3, City Councilor Brian Worrell filed an order for a hearing on eliminating minimum lot size requirements in District 4 (docket 1103). Introducing it, he said current zoning in his district requires lots of 3,000 to 7,000 square feet for one- to three-family homes, and that more than 60 vacant city-owned lots fall below the 3,000-square-foot minimum (watch at 4:55:14). He noted that the city's planning chief had said he prefers zoning changes neighborhood by neighborhood rather than citywide.

The order went to the Planning, Development and Transportation Committee. It has waited 151 days with no hearing reported in our records. Seven colleagues signed on: Breadon, Culpepper, FitzGerald, Flynn, Louijeune, Mejia and Murphy.

Question 8: ending recreational marijuana sales

Question 8 would repeal the law that legalized recreational marijuana sales, according to a Boston.com explainer based on the state's official summary. Under it:

• retail sales of adult-use marijuana would end, and licensed businesses could apply to become medical dispensaries;
• adults 21 and older could still possess up to one ounce;
• laws allowing home growing would be repealed;
• the Cannabis Control Commission would regulate only the medical market.

Opponents point to $289 million in state marijuana tax revenue in fiscal 2025, Boston.com reported. Supporters argue the industry has not delivered what was promised.

What our records add. Unlike Question 7, this one would reach Boston directly.

• Businesses. At an April 30 budget hearing, the city's licensing office reported 39 cannabis establishments open in Boston: 33 retail-only stores, five that combine retail and medical sales, and one delivery operator. The Boston Cannabis Board issued seven licenses in fiscal 2026, four of them to equity applicants (watch at 30:43).
• City revenue. At an April 14 budget hearing, Council President Liz Breadon asked how much the city collects from marijuana. A city budget official said about $3.5 million a year, and that the fiscal 2027 budget assumes about the same (watch at 51:38). The summaries we reviewed do not say what would happen to the local sales tax if retail sales end.
• A hearing request. On May 6, City Councilor Ed Flynn filed an order for a hearing on how Boston will carry out new state marijuana rules, including licenses for social consumption sites (docket 0935). "It's also critical that Boston get ahead of this and get it right," he said (watch at 2:06:01). The order has been in the Labor and Economic Development Committee for 179 days.

The council did not take a position on either question, as we reported.

What's next

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Unofficial results begin after 8 p.m., and precinct-level results are expected by 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Elections Department.