A story in the New York Times, which you can find here, gives me hope that McMansion mania is finally petering out. According to the Times, the demand for ultra-large homes in New Jersey — where such homes have long ruled the market — seems to be waning. The Times isn’t sure if this is a longterm or a shortterm thing. But it does give me hope.

What can you do if someone starts building a giant home, one that dwarfs the others in your neighborhood, next door to you? Or down the block? Can you stop it?

The court sided with the Massachusetts town of Norwell’s zoning board when it denied a permit to a developer who wanted to tear down an existing house and replace it with one more than twice as large.