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· Outdated land-use regulations that significantly drive up the cost of housing.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

NOBLE DEN HOTEL

CLEAN, EFFICIENT ROOMS PLUS ROOFTOP DECK

IN LOWER MANHATTAN'S CHINATOWN/LITTLE ITALY

I could instantly see why Noble Den Hotel gets high reviews.

The staff is very polite and resourceful.

The property is an oasis in an otherwise slightly gritty area where Chinatown meets Little Italy -- with the Lower East Side and SOHO nearby.

Mulberry Street next door can be noisy, but the hotel is sound proofed.

The units are small, but super well designed. They have thought of everything as far as space, natural light, comfortable bath, tons of outlets (with USB outlets too), a mini fridge, etc.

The super bonus is a rooftop lounge. It has no bar, so there is no noise are hipster crowds to fight. Just some nice furniture and a panoramic view of lower Manhattan.

Just off the lobby is really good free coffee, hot chocolate and a microwave for heating up delicious food from the neighborhood.

The room fridge is not a mini bar, which is a good thing. All of its space is for cooling beverages, berries, breakfast foods and leftovers.

There are two elevators, so no waiting in the smallish family feeling property.

I was checked in just under an hour early -- for free -- and they safely stowed my bags.

You get a cute stuffed animal on arrival and there are toothbrushes, combs and more in the room, if you forgot to pack those.

Major subway stations are nearby for fast, inexpensive transit.

The price point was incredible for a modern, fresh, well-designed and well-located hotel.

There is a great accessible room with roll-in shower. The only drawback is adjacent elevator shaft noises.