HONORED TO SPEAK AT THE FLORIDA REALTORS

2024 CONVENTION IN ORLANDO

 

My topic was Sustainable Development Solutions -- How Do You Fit In?

I also focused on Universal Design and Aging in Place.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak at the Rosen Shingle Creek facility, to an attentive crowd.

Contact me to be your next keynote speaker on Universal Design, Placemaking, Aging In Place, Sustainability or any other aspect of Planning.

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Yonah Freemark, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, said zoning reform must address affordable housing, but cities and regions should not stop there.

Land use must also address preservation of nature, agricultural land and resources. 

“We shouldn’t just be talking about what we can build, but where we can build. 

We must look at infill zones versus the degree to which housing is being built in agricultural zones,” noting that development over farms not only decreases local food, but also increases municipal spending on myriad infrastructure, such as new roads, water, sewer, and schools, to serve suburban expansion into rural areas.”

 

 

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Yonah Freemark, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute said that he favors upzoning near public transit, so affordable housing is created in proximity to mobility.

If the goal is to make life more affordable for the city’s workforce, that can be achieved by placing housing by transit so people can get to work without the high expense of owning and maintaining a car.

Freemark also believes cities, counties, schools and other agencies are sitting on an asset that could be tapped for housing.

“I think maximizing the use of publicly owned land is the number one most important thing we can add to the toolbox to promote affordable housing. 

We must identify what sites are owned by the public sector across various agencies, then maximize those sites to get more housing starts,” he said. 

“There is a lot of under-used public land that could be built on for zero cost of acquisition.

We can then invest in a publicly owned housing developer to produce mixed-income housing units.”

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

When cities reform zoning to allow more construction, the impacts are small but meaningful.

Yonah Freemark, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, believes affordable housing has increasingly become a national issue. 

“When cities reform zoning to allow more construction, the impacts are small but meaningful. [But] zoning changes are inadequate alone to create affordable housing for the entire community,” he said.

“We need to do a whole variety of things, such as increasing low-income housing tax credits, which has produced millions of affordable housing units around the country.”

Freemark authored a research paper on the impact of zoning changes and warns that there is no magic bullet when it comes to upzoning and housing affordability. 

He found that Downzonings (regulations that reduce density) definitely limit construction and worsen affordability, but he also found a mixed bag in researching upzonings, which allow increased density, concluding they “offer mixed success in terms of housing production, reduced costs, and social integration in impacted neighborhoods; outcomes depend on market demand, local context, housing types, and timing.”

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is a federal program providing tax credits to developers who build new housing for low-income renters. 

The VITAL Act would increase funding for the LIHTC program to increase the number of accessible homes.

“Investments in accessible housing are central to guaranteeing better outcomes in health and satisfaction for older adults and people with disabilities,” Senator Bob Casey, D-Pa., chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, said.

Casey also is developing legislation to provide assistance for land banks, which can address a number of issues by acquiring abandoned/vacant property and using it for affordable housing.

Land banks serve a need while also uplifting the value of neighborhoods by replacing blighted lots with fresh infill development.

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Last December, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded nearly $700 million through its All Stations Accessibility Program to retrofit old rail and subway stations, adding elevators, ramps, and other improvements. 

The program, funded through the infrastructure law, is designed to improve the accessibility of transit rail stations so everyone, including people who use wheelchairs, push strollers, or cannot easily navigate stairs, can reliably access the rail systems in their communities.

Senator Bob Casey, D-Pa., chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, held a hearing this summer to sound the alarm over the lack of affordable, accessible housing. 

He introduced the Visitable Inclusive Tax Credit for Accessible Living (VITAL) Act, which would increase the amount of accessible housing available for people with disabilities and older adults to meet their needs.

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Jason Jordan, the American Planning Association’s (APA) public affairs director, emphasized that those who work in city leadership, planning and zoning must also address the reality that zoning often was used as a tool of bigotry.

“When we discuss zoning reform, we can’t leave out the exclusionary practices and racially directed practices. 

That has to be part of the conversation. 

We have to reconcile those ills and embrace environmental justice, the concept that land use has a role in breaking down artificial barriers that hurt marginalized people socially and economically.”

Beyond housing, land-use reform can also address climate change and transportation options. 

The Inflation Reduction Act gives direct financial support to communities that create a climate action plan. 

Vision Zero plans and Safe Streets initiatives in several cities are aimed at increasing pedestrian and bicycle safety, seeded by federal funds.

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Many states and cities are backing zoning reform that creates more housing options for a more diverse set of renters and buyers. 

Utah has linked housing reform to state infrastructure dollars, prioritizing funds to communities that are creating workforce housing.

“Several cities are creating a pathway to gentle density and more housing by offering pre-approved missing middle and ADU designs,” Jason Jordan, the American Planning Association’s (APA) public affairs director, said. 

“It makes it easier for small-scale and newer developers.

It prevents them from getting bogged down in design and approval process that can kill a project. 

It can encourage more minority developers to build smaller, infill projects, like missing middle housing.”

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

“If we know we need additional state and federal investment in tax credits to create housing, but we pour money into a broken system, we are destined to fail,” Jason Jordan, the American Planning Association’s (APA) public affairs director, said.

‘We set rules that make it very difficult to get things built. 

Almost everything requires a variance. Variances becomes very politicized through neighborhood concerns and political agendas.”

He noted that a lot of things on the books in city zoning codes remain from industrialization, which begot separation of uses and created car-dependent suburbs.

“The problem is that we have new sets of social and economic challenges that [old codes] don’t address.

Seniors want to age in place. 

We need walkable, transit-served, age-friendly communities. 

People are working more from home. 

They want neighborhood conveniences, not only single-family homes where they live and work.”

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Communities must come together and create a vision of what kind of housing it wants to accommodate its workforce, young families, seniors and people with disabilities. 

Then regulatory systems must be reformed to remove things in the zoning code that are barriers to that vision coming true.

For instance, Jason Jordan, the American Planning Association’s (APA) public affairs director, said a defined code that allows developers to build by right is not giving the store away to developers.

It is simply defining what the community wants from development, then giving developers predictability by being able to build without a string of variances, hearings and votes.

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Jason Jordan, the American Planning Association’s (APA) public affairs director, said planners favor zoning code reform and streamlining the process to create housing. Legislative policy shifts at the state level are a response to project-by-project local zoning cases that cause delays and impose difficult political hurdles on developments that could deliver affordable housing.

“As economic growth has rebounded post pandemic, there is an even more acute problem when it comes to workforce housing, starting housing, senior housing,” Jordan said. 

“In too many places, we have processes, codes and regulations that are barriers to the supplies we need. 

We are now seeing reform that is removing things imbedded in codes that are barriers to housing. 

That means reducing minimum lot sizes and on-site parking requirements. It also means adding tools such as ADUs.”

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Salim Furth, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, cited a 2023 Florida bill that “allows not just the conversion of existing structures but new multifamily construction in any commercial or industrial zone, as long as a large share of the new units are restricted to moderate-income residents. … 

The measure also allows new multifamily buildings in these zones to match the density of the jurisdiction’s densest zone and to match the height limit of any zone within a mile.”

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Salim Furth, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, said adaptive re-use has worked in older, smaller mid-rise and high-rise buildings. 

But it will not work in office buildings with large floorplates (center units would have no windows) or single-story office park office buildings, which are too expensive to convert.

He said cities that are serious about affordable housing should buy older units to preserve existing workforce housing, and that the office apocalypse — many offices barely half full because of work from home after COVID that continues — can be addressed via zoning reform.

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Salim Furth, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, favors fair and predictable community benefit agreements. 

Rather than meting out contributions in each neighborhood, which can result in “zoning for sale,” he suggests a set payment charged to the developer and a menu of things a community can fund with it.

“New Rochelle, N.Y., introduced this approach, along with other innovations, to spark a downtown reinvestment surge that has funded tremendous city benefits,” Furth said.

“There is a fixed, predictable dollar value that developers must pay. 

Neighbors can then help determine where the money is spent: on parks, computer space, a community center.”

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

The entire architecture of how land use works contains a lot of local conditions.

“When spending political capital, we like to get the most juice for the squeeze. 

But we know the entire architecture of how land use works contains a lot of local conditions, so we have all these variances, special-use permits, special exceptions,” Salim Furth, senior research fellow, at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, said.

“Cities are super regulators, so everything is done by exceptions.

The developer knows to get a lawyer, give contributions and they get their exceptions approved,” he observed.

 “Council members love the political contributions flowing and they get some say in the development.

Even in very progressive cities, you end up saying ‘yes’ to very expensive housing and ‘no’ to more budget-friendly housing.”

 

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

The Montana governor convened a task force and several pro-affordable housing preemptive laws were passed with bipartisan support, which include:

Streamlining the subdivision process, especially by expanding exemptions from the state’s environmental assessment requirement.

Clarifying that cities can allow tiny homes.

Opening commercial zones to housing development.

Allowing duplexes anywhere that single-family homes are permitted in cities with more than 5,000 residents.

Formalizing planning procedures and requiring each city to enact any five out of a list of 14 significant pro-housing regulatory changes.

Limiting the use of design review.

Requiring municipalities to permit accessory dwelling units (ADUs) without parking mandates or owner-occupancy requirements.

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Salim Furth, senior research fellow, and Eli Kahn, research assistant, at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, recently published a state legislature housing reform 2023 review.

It discusses bipartisan bills aimed at loosening zoning regulations to rein in local regulatory power.

For instance, “Montana has become the first red state to enact sweeping housing legislation to confront a cost crisis,” Furth said.

The review is available at

https://www.mercatus.org/research/policy-briefs/housing-reform-states-me...

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

David Morley, AICP, American Planning Association’s research program and QA manager, said the Post War/Baby Boom era created so many single-family-only communities, that any other density started feeling unnatural. 

He said over the past few decades, there is a growing awareness that communities need missing middle and affordable housing.

“One point I like to make in general is that a lot of zoning is antithetical to what communities need,” Morley said. 

“Zoning is a powerful tool. Why not use it to create more affordable housing than to use its power to keep more of the same, aka preventing it?”

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Miami 21 is a famous citywide form-based code in South Florida. 

Though David Morley, AICP, American Planning Association’s research program and QA manager, notes that even form-based codes are hybrids, because while they encourage compact development and a mix of uses, they still regulate what uses can go where.

“The big whoopsie in zoning evolution is the way missing middle density has been erased from the landscape. In most places, it’s not allowed to happen,” he said. 

Missing middle refers to the range of housing that fits between single-family detached homes and mid-to-high-rise apartment buildings.

It includes townhouses, duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes.

HOW ZONING SHAPES COMMUNITIES

THE GOOD, BAD AND HOPEFUL ASPECTS 

OF THE CENTURY-OLD TOOL THAT DETERMINES

EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PLACES WE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY

Performance-based zoning came next, allowing a greater mix of uses and flexibility in development scale — in return for more open space or other benefits to the community where the development takes place. 

Bucks County, Pa., is known for its more comprehensive zoning ordinance, from that era.

Form-based codes address the relationship between building facades and the public realm.

Euclidean zoning, the name attached to decades of careful separation of uses, was countered in the early 21st century with the introduction of the form-based code. 

“A form-based code is a land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle for the code,” as defined by the Form-Based Codes Institute.

“Form-based codes address the relationship between building facades and the public realm, the form and mass of buildings in relation to one another, and the scale and types of streets and blocks.”