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America's ritziest towns are trying to ban enormous McMansion trophy homes over claims they're an ugly blot on the landscape
Some of America's richest enclaves are coming together to outlaw mega mansions, as homes across the country get bigger and bigger.
Residents in towns such as skiing paradise Aspen to ritzy island getaway Martha's Vineyard are deciding how much local governments should reduce mansion bloat.
Leaders in East Hampton, a well-known upper-class respite from New York City, recently proposed slashing its maximum house size down from 20,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet, The Wall Street Journal reported.
'You can't build a big box store in this town that's bigger than 15,000 square feet, but our house size is 5,000 feet larger than that,' planning director Jeremy Samuelson pointed out during a public meeting in May.
Census data shows the size of houses in America has ballooned 150 percent between 1980 and 2018, with the median home stretching to 2,300 square feet in 2022.
This nearly 9,000 square foot home in Edgartown, Massachusetts, a town on Martha's Vineyard, is going for $16.5 million. It has eight bedroom and eight bathrooms
Built in 2013, this 13,531 square foot home in Aspen boasts five bedrooms and nine bathrooms
A 2,300 square foot home often has three to four bedrooms and bathrooms - enough to accommodate the average family size of 3.13 people in the US as of 2022.
It means starter homes are becoming a distant memory while mega mansions are on the rise.
In Los Angeles, a 105,000 square foot property sitting on a hill in Bel Air that was completed in 2021.
Billionaire Ira Rennert, 90, commissioned an even bigger complex in Sagaponack, New York. The mansion has 29 bedrooms, 39 bathrooms, a 164-seat theater, basketball court, gymnasium two-lane bowling alley, and a 100-car garage.
Critics complain such developments have large carbon footprints and draw lots of energy.
An aerial view of The One Bel Air, a 105,000-square-foot mansion with a sky deck and putting green, night club, several swimming pools, a 50-seat theater, and a four-lane bowling alley
Billionaire Ira Rennert's 110,000 square foot complex in Sagaponack, New York. It has 29 bedrooms, 39 bathrooms, a 164-seat theater, basketball court, gymnasium two-lane bowling alley, and a 100-car garage.
But in East Hampton, developers are building so called 'iceberg houses' - large properties that appear understated.
Typically, these designs feature basements that are as big or bigger than the ground floor.
A working group in East Hampton is seeking to close this loophole by including basements and attached garages in a home's square footage.
At the May meeting, Samuelson pointed to an example of a 11,863 square foot house on a lot meant for 6,100 square feet.
The basement, he claimed, has 'two guest rooms - bedrooms - an entertainment room, a wine lounge, a wine cellar, a theater, a tech room, a spa, a sauna, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
He added: 'And that's all lovely. That sounds amazing. I'm incredibly envious of the wealth and lifestyle of these people,' Samuelson said, adding, 'it has nothing to do with whether this is the right size house for this property.'
Kirby Marcantonio lives right next door to this house and called it a 'Taj Mahal monstrosity' that sits in a neighborhood with fairly small homes.
This East Hampton home may not look like 11,530 square feet, but that's because its arguably one of the 'iceberg houses' officials are trying to reign in. The lower level has a full-sized professional gym, a spa, a game room and a bar area with an 800-bottle wine display wall. It's going for $18 million
Truro, a town near the tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, capped new homes at 3,600 square feet in 2017, but then officials slipped in an amendment allowing bigger builds with special permits.
Resident Darrell Shedd told the Journal: 'I'm not saying it was done on the sly. Our town meetings drag on. I was probably glazed over.'
But now that he has taken notice, he's fighting to close this loophole.
'I mean, I don't want to get judgmental, but does somebody really need a 4,600-square- foot house in a little rural town?' Shedd added.
'We just don't want this town to start looking like Nantucket or the Hamptons—which are totally out of control.'
Edgartown, a town on Martha's Vineyard, also proposed a bill that would limit homes' square footage.
Despite objections from those who say large family compounds would essentially be outlawed, voters approved the measure overwhelmingly in April.
This is a seven-bedroom, eight bathroom home on the slopes of Steamboat Ski Resort in Colorado. The $24 million ski-in ski-out mansion is also fitted with a two-story gym and a sauna
This Aspen home may fetch $65 million. It sits on 66 acres of land and overlooks the snowcapped town. The house itself has seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms
Routt County, Colorado, a big ski resort area dotted with numerous multimillion dollar mansions took a further step in June to cap house sizes.
After months of debate at packed public meetings, county commissioners voted to limit square footage to 7,500 square feet.
That means this seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom home on the slopes of Steamboat Ski Resort - also fitted with a two-story gym and a sauna - wouldn't be able to built now since it's nearly 10,000 square feet.
'Do we want to have our landscape lined and dotted with trophy homes?' asked Commissioner Sonja Macys.
Still, the data doesn't show that Routt County is overflowing with big houses.
Only 2.7 percent are bigger than 7,500 square feet, according to county officials, which has prompted some locals to condemn the caps.
This estate in Steamboat Springs wouldn't be allowed to be built now, since its nearly 8,500 square feet, 1,000 square feet more than the county's cap
This $12.75 million, 9,500 square foot home in Steamboat Springs also would be prevented from being constructed under the new rule
'It appears to be an idea born out of misplaced envy and resentment,' Pete Neidecker wrote in a public comment.
'Why is the County punishing success in life?' added Doug Button, a cattle rancher and real-estate developer.
In nearby Pitkin County, home to Aspen, leaders cut the maximum home size from 15,000 to 9,250 square feet last November.
Their argument was based on the fact that larger homes produce more greenhouse gas emissions and 'increases environmental havoc.'
Those same officials want to cut the maximum yet again to 8,750 square feet, which ironically has wealthy homebuyers descending on Aspen to get their hands on the last remaining mansions.
'The buzz around town is, they're going to further limit the size of your home so you better buy now,' says Tim Estin of Aspen Snowmass Sotheby's International Realty.