Most zoning requires a minimum of land and road frontage. In my rural part of Massachusetts it is 2 acres and 200ft of frontage. I live in a small village whe

Most zoning requires a minimum of land and road frontage. In my rural part of Massachusetts it is 2 acres and 200ft of frontage. I live in a small village where if my house were to burn down and I didn't rebuild it within 2 years it would be illegal to rebuild as it only has 80ft of frontage and 0.25 acres of land. Its kind of crazy. The zoning laws were put into place around here to "curb density" which is the exact reason people love living in the little village I live in. The tide is changing though - we are starting to see more and more "New Urbanist" developments in the states (but not around here). Basically replicating a dense communal shopping area with 2nd floor housing and nearby single family houses. They feel a little serile however.