4 Key Rules for Getting More Housing Where You Live
(Source: Unsplash.)
So many communities across the U.S. are experiencing high housing costs and scarce supply of new homes on the market. The reasons for this are complex, but one of the clearest—and easiest—things that any city or town can do if it wants to pave the way for more housing that more people can afford is to allow that housing to be built in the first place.
You wouldn’t believe the amount of rules, regulations, and restrictions that exist in the vast majority of American communities. These rules tell homeowners and developers everything from how many parking spots they need to provide, to how large their yards must be. All of those rules stop more homes from being built, because they end up requiring a very small slice of the potential types of housing that a neighborhood might need—and they can take a team of lawyers months to wade through if you want to do anything that deviates from the status quo.
Get your free action guide here.
The good news is that, by taking the simple step to remove or adjust these zoning codes on the books in our towns, we can open up a whole lot of potential new housing.
Bottom line: Zoning for a strong town needs to lower the bar to entry to build something, adapt something, or start something new to meet your needs and those of your neighbors.
A new, one-hour Strong Towns course walks you through exactly what to do if you want to change the zoning situation in your community. Featured speakers include resident Strong Towns housing expert and Senior Editor Daniel Herriges, plus special guest Hazel Borys, principal at the planning firm Placemakers. Check out that course here.
We’re giving you a sneak peak of the class resources today though, in the form of a handy, printable Action Guide.
The guide offers four key tips for reforming zoning in your city:
Legalize small.
Legalize fast.
Allow adaptation.
Keep it simple.
In addition to going in-depth on each of those items, there’s also a bonus section with advice for the zoning reformers out there hoping to increase housing and business options in their towns—that’s you!
Get your guide now and, if you want to go deeper, take our new class, “4 Quick Zoning Code Reforms for a Strong Town,” in the Strong Towns Academy.
Reforming the administration of a city's building or zoning code is just as important as reforming the code itself. Fortunately, shifting this approach is within the discretion of city staff, so they can turn an aggravating, time-consuming process into one that better serves everyone's needs.