Housing inventory hit record lows during the pandemic, and the United States has been playing catch-up ever since. With the need for more affordable housing, some who don’t want their single-family neighborhoods to become multi-family rental destinations have been pushing back against residential development in their areas. This “Not in My Back Yard” (NIMBY) pushback has put an enhanced focus on how many communities are zoned.
One step toward closing the gap is zoning reforms to allow for more housing units, rather than just single-family homes, the report suggested.
However, in many cities, battle lines have been drawn over zoning restrictions between those who want to protect single-family home neighborhoods and those advocating for more affordable rental properties in those areas.
According to Hartford housing attorney Tim Hollister, resistance to zoning changes has stalled progress.
“As an example here, we have the town of Woodbridge where you can build a four thousand square-foot mansion and put in your own septic system, and all you have to do is walk to the town offices and get a building permit. But if you want to put in four, separate thousand-square-foot units on the same property, you have to go through the labyrinth of the town’s zoning process,” he said.
Hollister said that although there are zoning mandates in place across the country that allow the construction of apartments, some individual municipalities are taking it upon themselves to enact their own zoning rules in an effort to slow the growth of multi-family housing development.
In recent years, several high-profile zoning disputes have emerged.
In Minneapolis, for instance, a Hennepin County judge struck down the city’s plan late last year to legalize triplexes in formerly single-family-only zones after environmental groups raised concerns.
Other zoning battles are occurring nationwide, including in cities such as San Antonio, Texas, and states such as Michigan.
“What motivates NIMBYism in these cases is the theories developed that the property values or status of their neighborhood will change. But it’s more of a reflection of people not wanting change to happen around them,” M. Nolan Gray, the senior director of legislation for California’s YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard), told The Epoch Times.
NIMBY is an acronym used to describe people’s opposition to certain developments or projects in their local area, often because of perceived negative impacts on their immediate surroundings.
Gray emphasized that the uniquely American view of success being attached to single-family home ownership is being reshaped.
“A unique cultural focus in this country is the detached single-family home. We can do that because we have a lot of land compared to other countries,” he said.
Gray has authored “Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It,” which looks at how he believes zoning restrictions in the United States need to be abolished to allow more diversity and affordable housing in cities and towns across the country.
He said that the United States needs a mindset shift to eliminate zoning mandates altogether and encourage the construction of more affordable housing.
“Zoning makes it illegal to build the homes we need. Most people don’t want to think about it; it’s wonky and boring, but our current housing issue has brought it back to the conversation,” he said.
