It’s no coincidence that the person leading the charge for deregulating so-called granny flats is a Cambridge property investor, highlighted in Dante Ramos’s column “Grandma, what big square feet you have!’’ (Ideas, May 1). Ramos also gives a shout-out to Vancouver’s waiver of on-site owners in buildings with “accessory apartments,’’ a charming euphemism for cramming people into barely habitable spaces that would induce claustrophobia in a coal miner.

The mushrooming of such tiny quarters, already sprouting in the North End basements of absentee landlords, is attracting short-term transient rentals and Airbnb arrangements. There are not exactly family-friendly units with space set aside for a stroller or bicycle or even trash storage.

The end result? There is no longer room for brooms, shovels, and sidewalk de-icer. Discarded plastic garbage bags are left to litter sidewalks on off-days for trash collections and to supply all-you-can-eat smorgasbords for rodents.

And the answer to our housing crisis is less governmental regulation? Absentee landlords boosting their bottom lines? These are solutions for preserving sustainable neighborhoods and communities?

Thomas F. Schiavoni

Boston