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Zoning Reformer in Chief
It’s happening. Five years after the Obama White House released a memo endorsing local zoning reforms as a way to fight displacement and boost the economy, three years after the Trump White House did essentially the same, and one year after Donald Trump himself took an interest in the issue long enough to flip-flop on it and spend several ill-fated weeks making the case for neighborhood segregation, US President Joseph...Read more » -
YIMBYism Means Legalizing Very Cheap Homes, Too
The recipe for solving a housing crisis has various ingredients. But one essential ingredient is simple: Housing has to be legal. The modern urban pro-housing movement—the YIMBY movement, as it’s sometimes known—spends a lot of effort trying to lift our cities’ widespread bans on mid-cost homes like fourplexes, backyard cottages, and apartments. This movement is increasingly successful, which is great. Legalizing homes of all shapes and sizes in all neighborhoods...Read more » -
Anchorage Needs More Moderately Priced Homes: Let’s Start With ADUs
In Anchorage, there are lots of rules about what you can do with buildings on your private property. Most make sense, like mandating earthquake-resistant structures and preventing properties from becoming junkyards. But the city’s zoning code still contains regulations that can do more harm than good by deterring homebuilding and limiting housing choices. Take regulations that impose limits on building an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), also known as a garden...Read more » -
Two Paths Emerge for Washington to Legalize More Granny Flats
Washington State lawmakers could clear a path in neighborhoods across the state for more granny flats and basement apartments.Read more » -
UPDATED: State Incentives for Local Abundant Housing Policy
Washington state legislators eye three new state-wide strategies to incentivize cities to adopt local abundant housing rules and tackle the state’s affordability crisis by addressing the home shortage.Read more » -
Suddenly, Zoning Reforms are Popping up Everywhere
This has been, among other things, a very good week for housing action in the United States. On Tuesday evening, the city council of Sacramento, California, voted 9-0 for a plan that would, if it reaches final approval in a year, re-legalize four homes by right on every residential lot. It would remove parking mandates citywide and allow lots to be subdivided by right. Just as importantly, the concept currently...Read more » -
Why Should Washington Lawmakers Take Action on Granny Flats?
ADUs like granny flats are one of many solutions that can help reverse the state’s housing crisis. Cities like Bellevue need a nudge.Read more » -
What Do Georgia’s Senate Runoffs Mean for Federal Action on Housing?
Update January 6, 2021: Victories for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in yesterday’s Georgia Senate runoff election will hand over control of the US Senate to Democrats in the next Congress. It’s a critical step toward realizing President-elect Joe Biden’s exemplary housing proposals. However, Senate Republicans can obstruct federal action on housing with the filibuster. To boost funding for Section 8 vouchers or the Housing Trust Fund, Democrats can bypass...Read more » -
West Coast Cottage Reforms Lead to Explosive Rise in Permits
In recent years, cities and states across North America have turned their attention to reforming exclusionary zoning rules to address housing shortages and create walkable neighborhoods with access to good jobs and public transit. Under exclusionary zoning, most cities reserve a majority of residential land for expensive, single-detached houses that are out of reach for most families. With the removal of these rules, neighborhoods can open up and offer more...Read more » -
Biden-Harris Win Opens Path to Federal Action on Housing
Biden wins! Good news is the Biden-Harris ticket has a great plan for federal action on housing. Bad news is continued obstructionism in a Republican-controlled Senate will stall affordability and housing security for Americans.Read more »