EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

“When you think of just the economic piece—the town of Paradise lost their tax base in a day,” said Barry J. Long, Jr., AIA, LEED AP,  principal and president of Urban Design Associates (UDA).

“They had to get outside funding to backfill their tax roll to 2055.

They had naturally occurring affordable housing in a three-county region—but much of that will be lost because of the high cost of rebuilding.”

Long said building back affordably is a higher priority for disaster survivors than building back to be fire resistant.

He said many cities push back on building codes that require more than the International Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Code, which sets minimum regulations for safeguarding life and property from the intrusion of wildfires.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Barry J. Long, Jr., AIA, LEED AP, is principal and president of Urban Design Associates (UDA), a Pittsburgh-based firm that has a national practice of helping communities recover from disaster.

UDA worked to rebuild Paradise, Calif., where a 2018 fire destroyed more than 18,000 structures, including over 14,000 homes, and killed 85 people.

Long noted that more than six years after the fire, Paradise is only about 25 percent built back.

Businesses have been slow to come back, because there’s not enough population to support them.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

“Even before the fires, a shortage of affordable housing in Los Angeles created a pall on overall economic growth …

Renters in Los Angeles County need to earn $48.04 per hour—nearly triple the minimum wage—to afford the average monthly asking rent of about $2,500, according to the California Housing Partnership.

That average is about 45 percent higher than national rents …” stated the report by Costar.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Costar, a real estate data and analytics company reported “the most destructive wildfires in California history are expected to send insurance rates surging, adding another headwind for owners of multifamily properties in Los Angeles and potentially hindering affordable housing goals.”

The report notes that The American Property Casualty Insurance Association has lobbied Congress to pass more laws to address wildfire risks—such as the Fix Our Forests Act that seeks to increase the pace and scale of forest management and establishes a program to better coordinate federal agencies to reduce wildfire damage to properties.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Areas devastated by flooding and windstorms are looking to the nature-based resiliency and self-sufficient sustainability of Florida’s Babcock Ranch—which has survived a hurricane that virtually destroyed nearby Gulf Coast communities.

When communities rebuild after wildfires and other disasters, the president elect of the American Institute of Architects and a leading Disability/Aging in Place/Environment advocate, Illya Azaroff, champions the benefits of Universal Design.

Residential and commercial space that is designed to accommodate all ages and abilities adds flexibility, durability and cost efficiency—similar to green building.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

Today, more brutal (in terms of loss of life and billions in property) natural disasters are happening more frequently.

Wildfires, hurricanes, floods and other disasters threaten all that we hold dear.

Planners, architects, builders, developers, REALTORS® and even insurance companies are rallying to get a handle on resilient design.

From protecting individual buildings to entire communities, the professions that shape our built environment and way of life are searching for best practices that will prepare us for and protect us from extreme-weather impacts.

EXPLORING RESILIENCY

AND SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN

For centuries, vernacular building techniques used local materials and a knowledge of local conditions to create buildings that were naturally resistant to disastrous weather.

Somewhere in the mid-20th century, conventional building was reflected in suburban sprawl building patterns and mass production with materials sourced from far away.

When LEED was introduced in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council, sustainable building and the long-term financial rewards of investing in sustainable building became part of our vocabulary.

QUITE A BIT TO CELEBRATE

PRIVILEGED TO SHARE

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

On location at the endless miles of wheelchair accessible boardwalks at Algar Seco near Carvoeiro in Portugal's Algarve

In the space of little more than a month, I have:

Headlined as a speaker on Universal Design and Sustainability at the Florida REALTORS statewide conference in Orlando.

Served as a key speaker at the American Planning Association’s statewide conference in Tampa.

Participated in the launch of the Saudades book, which features my fine art photography, which also is on display in the gallery section of Books & Books in Coral Gables.

Been featured as an on screen global expert on creating a better built environment for people with disabilities in the documentary film “Mark – A Call to Action” which released globally online, streaming and on DVD this month.

Traveled the Algarve and beyond in Portugal as a Universal Design expert consultant.

This coming week, I turn 60. 

I will weigh less than I did at age 16. 

Which means I was overweight for four decades, but finally figured things out and shed way more than 100 pounds.

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

Jenny Schuetz, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution

While acknowledging that local government has most of the power of zoning and land-use regulations, Jenny Schuetz, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution,  noted “the federal government has some policy levers that could help expand the supply and diversity of housing.”

“Congress should create financial incentives for local governments to revise their zoning in favor of allowing a wider range of structure types, and better integrate federal investments in housing, land use and transportation,” she testified. 

“Local governments and regional planning agencies would also benefit from federally funded technical assistance and clearer guidance on what types of zoning reforms work best in different local housing markets — tasks that fall well within the scope and mission of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

Schuetz said accessible housing and the housing needs of people with disabilities is a serious omission in publicly available data and academic research.

“Federal agencies including HUD, HHS, and the Census Bureau should explore ways to address knowledge gaps and support high-quality, policy-relevant research on these topics,” she said of housing needs of people with disabilities. 

“Rising housing costs create more financial stress for low-income households and people living on fixed incomes.”

U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that people with disabilities are the most under- and un-employed of all minorities. 

Underscoring a crisis that marginalizes and denies dignity and quality of life for people with disabilities, Schuetz reported that only about 16 percent of low-income disabled Americans receive housing subsidies.

 

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

Senator Bob Casey

Jenny Schuetz, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, who gave testimony this summer to the United States Senate Special Committee On Aging, emphasized that her views were her own. 

Her expert testimony to the committee, chaired by U.S. Senator Bob Casey, focused on an oft-overlooked aspect — housing that is both affordable and accessible to older adults and people with disabilities.

She said the U.S. housing shortage, caused by a gap of nearly 3.8 million additional houses needed to match population growth, is creating acute housing affordability challenges for older adults and people with disabilities. 

Zoning rules that prohibit all structures except single-family detached homes create direct barriers to building accessible homes.

“Single-family homes are less likely to have accessible features, such as a no-step entry into the home or a bedroom and bath on the main living floor,” she testified.

“Historically, duplexes and triplexes have enabled multiple generations and extended families to live together — an important source of informal caregiving.”

CDC research shows one in four million Americans have some kind of disability.

But Schuetz noted research has proven that less than 5 percent of homes are accessible for people with moderate mobility difficulties.

“Many older adults and people with disabilities need or prefer fully accessible apartments in elevator buildings. 

Yet all of these diverse structure types are illegal to build on the majority of residential land in communities across the United States,” she testified. 

“The lack of small, accessible homes in many neighborhoods limits the ability of older adults … to right-size their home while staying in the same community.”

 

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

The state housing authority’s loans to developers involves a competitive process.

One of the ways to earn a higher ranking is to be located in a community that has engaged in the most significant zoning regulatory reform.

Tom Larson, executive vice president of the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association,  said part of the reform is allowing smaller lot sizes and more units per acre. 

“We have found it very persuasive to explain to local officials and members of the public that today you can’t build the housing that most of us grew up in — because local regulations won’t allow it. 

That frames it.

It changes the narrative,” he said.

“We hear ‘We don’t want the others, those people,’” Larson said about the argument for exclusionary zoning.

“But when they see the regulations wouldn’t allow themselves or their children to move into the community, it personalizes it. 

They think of it differently.”

Larson noted that zoning that allows smaller units close to neighborhood conveniences gives seniors a place to downsize into. 

That frees up housing inventory for young families. 

Young families, in turn, can rehab Wisconsin’s aging housing stock, where more than half of single-family homes were built before 1980.

 

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

Tom Larson, executive vice president of the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association

Washington County invested $7.5 million to lower the cost of homes in the pilot project. Another $2.5 million is in a downpayment assistance program. 

To get $20,000 of forgivable downpayment funds, a person has to commit to volunteering at a nonprofit to serve the community for five years. 

If the person does not volunteer, they must pay back the loan five years after receiving it, but at zero-percent interest.

Josh Schoemann, county executive of Washington County, Wis., said the county has a “fair amount of rentals” so it is not funding affordable apartments. 

The goal is to create 1,000 units of owner-occupied Next Generation Housing over a decade.

Tom Larson, executive vice president of the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association,  said another provision in Wisconsin, aimed at streamlining workforce housing, places limits on what neighbors have standing to file a court appeal on a zoning decision.

“It limits appeals to those who suffer actual damages.

If you’re a neighbor with stormwater put onto your property. that’s actual damage,” he said. 

“If you are down the road a mile or two and you worry about a few more cars on the road, (due to the development) you do not have standing.

“Under prior law, if you were within a quarter mile of a rezoning, you could file a protest and that triggered a super majority vote. 

Now that does not happen — only a simple majority is required,” he said.

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

Josh Schoemann, county executive of Washington County, Wis., 

Josh Schoemann, county executive of Washington County, Wis., is leading the charge for affordable workforce housing in his area north of Milwaukee.

“The biggest challenge is having housing the workforce can actually afford. They are costed out of our community,” he said.

“I looked up on REALTOR.com and found three houses for sale at $300,000 and below in the whole county.”

Schoemann said the skyrocketing cost of homeownership is making it hard to recruit a workforce and to keep local college graduates in the community.

“We focused on Next Generation Housing.

We identified very early on that our zoning would not let you build on a single-family lot less than 8,000 square feet and our regulatory hard and soft costs added about $80,000 per lot.

Builders tell us they can create a 1,200 square-foot home in the $250,000 range — but when you tack on all the regulatory and infrastructure costs, the price pretty quickly hits about $400,000.”

The county created a pilot project in the village of Jackson, where it funded some infrastructure and allowed smaller lots. 

The Oaks of Jackson features 105 units — mostly single family with some duplexes and quadplexes — on about 20 acres next to the village hall. 

Seventy-five percent of the units will sell at $320,000, and 25 percent will be $420,000 or below.

 

 

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

Tom Larson, executive vice president of the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association, praised two new statewide rules. 

The first is a development-by-right framework, which requires local governments to approve a residential development if the development is consistent with the local development regulations.

It gives local officials the spine to make the correct, but politically unpopular decision.

The other change is if local government turns down a development, the applicant can appeal directly to the court and that ruling stands.

In the past, courts overturned zoning decisions, but remanded it back to the municipality.

The long cycle of winding through staff review, lower hearing boards and a vote by elected officials drove up costs and sometimes killed missing middle and urban infill projects that would have addressed the housing crisis.

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

The report and WRA’s government relations work struck a chord, because eight different pro-housing legislative measures passed with bipartisan backing last year and in the most recent session, five major housing bills passed with almost unanimous support. 

The highlight is a $525-million revolving loan program for workforce housing.

“Our legislature is not a fan of TIF (Tax Increment Financing), tax credits or grants. It favors a revolving loan program, so the money gets paid back,” Tom Larson, executive vice president of the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association, observed.

Larson said another issue in the Badger State has been Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) opposition to affordable housing, saying “you can enact the best land-use regulations you want, but you can’t get a project approved if neighbors oppose everything.”

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM\

Tom Larson, executive vice president of the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA), has been working on smart growth and housing affordability issues with state and local lawmakers for a quarter century.

In 2019, WRA commissioned University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of urban and regional planning, Dr. Kurt Paulsen, Ph.D., AICP, and his report, “Falling Behind,” highlights three main causes of the workforce housing shortage:

· Not building enough homes to keep up with population and income growth.

· Construction costs outpacing inflation and incomes.

· Outdated land-use regulations that significantly drive up the cost of housing.

· The results of these root causes of the workforce housing shortage bring about the following results:

· Housing costs on the rise.

· A severe decline in homeownership.

· A continued decline in overall housing affordability.

 

 

 

 

 

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM 

“Cities and states can also enable housing production by converting land previously zoned for other uses. As work-from-home continues to be prevalent, the demand for commercial real estate has plummeted, so allow housing in commercial districts,” said Aaron Shroyer, senior advisor with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development & Research.

“We also need to promote affordable housing options near transit and create more people-centered neighborhoods.”

Shroyer is encouraged by a year that has seen about 200 affordable housing policy bills introduced in various states and the majority of them approved. 

He said all political parties are realizing that more housing supply will help hedge against prices going up so dramatically.

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

“Larger-lot-size zoning forces a person to buy a house and a yard. Some people don’t want yards,” said Aaron Shroyer, senior advisor with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development & Research.

“What you’re doing is guaranteeing less density. Houston lowered minimum lot sizes from 5,000 square feet to 1,400 about 25 years ago. 

I’ve read that it produced 80,000 more houses. 

Now we can’t say the smaller lot sizes are the causation for every house, but it seemed to bring more units to market and more options means more affordability.”

Shroyer agrees with many affordable housing advocates who say cities should allow missing middle and larger multifamily development by right — meaning no expensive variances or land-use changes are required. 

He also said cities could remove barriers to adaptive reuse and conversion of office or commercial buildings into housing.

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

Aaron Shroyer, senior advisor with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development & Research, said cities should eliminate minimum parking requirements, which often mandate more parking spaces than the market requires.

Studies have shown that parking spaces in a garage can add $30,000 or more to the price of a unit.

“I’m not the first person to say this, but our focus should be on building affordable housing for people and not for cars,” he said, noting that jurisdictions that do away with parking requirements often see more housing units on a development site.

In the single-family realm, Shroyer suggests removing something that is omnipresent in local zoning codes — minimum lot sizes.

PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

Aaron Shroyer is a senior advisor with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development & Research.

Aaron Shroyer is a senior advisor with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development & Research.

“It’s clear that in cities there is downtown and areas where job centers are and these are the hubs of economic activity. 

But you look at how most of these big cities are zoned, they reserve an outsized portion of their land for single-family housing,” he said.

 “It sets an artificial cap on the number of people who can live there and the number who can live near the jobs. [People] pay a higher rent because the scarcity of housing.”

Shroyer said cities and the early suburbs had a mix of housing types, then areas were downzoned to allow only single-family houses, often on large lots.

 “That affordable housing stock is illegal to build in most cities, so it’s important to re-legalize it,” he noted.