{"id":8527,"date":"2022-04-11T14:50:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-11T18:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/?p=8527"},"modified":"2022-04-14T14:48:13","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T18:48:13","slug":"key-insights-from-lessons-learned-a-conversation-on-expanding-housing-types-from-across-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montgomeryplanning.org\/blog-design\/2022\/04\/key-insights-from-lessons-learned-a-conversation-on-expanding-housing-types-from-across-the-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Key insights from \u201cLessons learned: A conversation on expanding housing types from across the country\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jason Sartori, Lisa Govoni, and Karen Blyton<\/em><\/p>\n

It has been widely reported that Montgomery County is facing a shortage of housing options that meet the size, price, and location needs of our increasingly diverse population. This issue is not specific to Montgomery County\u2014places across the country are looking to expand housing types in their area.<\/p>\n

To better understand what other regions have done to make homeownership more attainable for their residents, Montgomery Planning held a virtual event during the Montgomery County Planning Board<\/a>\u2019s February 24 meeting featuring an esteemed panel of housing experts. Called \u201cLessons learned: A conversation on expanding housing types from across the country,\u201d it featured former Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender, HUD\u2019s Regina C. Gray, DevNW (Oregon) Real Estate Director Erin Dey, and Arlington County, VA, Planning Supervisor Kellie Brown.<\/p>\n\"Lessons\n

The Planning Board used this event to examine how states such as Oregon, cities like Minneapolis, MN, and, more locally, Virginia\u2019s Arlington County are navigating creating new housing types and increasing housing choice. The Planning Board engaged in a discussion with the panel to see how the panelists\u2019 experiences and best practices could be applied to Montgomery County and the Attainable Housing Strategies (AHS) initiative<\/a>. Here is what we learned:<\/p>\n

\"Regina

Regina C. Gray (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) discusses constraints to the U.S. housing supply.<\/p><\/div>\n

Our housing supply is constrained\u2014not just in Montgomery County, but nationwide\u2014due to a prevalence of single-family zoning. This creates barriers to potential homeowners and renters.<\/h3>\n

Regina C. Gray from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development<\/a> explained that land use zoning practices can create barriers in the market and price out potential homeowners and renters. Zoning policies can constrain the housing supply, artificially raise prices and reduce affordability, and place limits on diversity. She discussed how most of the residential land in the United States has been zoned for detached single-family homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cZoning that allows a variety of housing types is associated with a greater quantity of low-cost rental housing, as well as a greater supply of units that are not affordable,\u201d said Gray. \u201cOur goal is to expand the supply of moderate-income housing and there are several solutions to this. Comprehensive plans should specify goals of housing types as well as density targets when planning for future growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kellie Brown, Comprehensive Planning Section Supervisor for Arlington County, VA, says that her county is also facing a lack of diverse housing options due to single-family zoning. Since the fall of 2020, Brown has been part of the Missing Middle Housing Study<\/a>. Through this study, Arlington County is looking at a range of housing types in the middle between single-family detached houses and mid-to-high-rise apartment buildings, such as smaller houses with lower associated costs, three-bedroom units, and starter homes.<\/p>\n

The Planning Board\u2019s Attainable Housing Strategies recommendations will identify zoning reforms to allow and encourage the creation of a more diverse range of housing typologies across the county. During its next Attainable Housing Strategies work session (tentatively scheduled for May), the Planning Board will review potential zoning modifications that would implement the numerous recommendations contained in the Draft Attainable Housing Strategies Final Report<\/a>. However, the recommendations should be viewed as providing a menu of options for the Council to consider, which can be implemented by introducing and adopting relevant portions of the corresponding zoning modifications.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are finding is that the decades of zoning policies that discourage or ban smaller scale, higher density housing have contributed to the \u2018missing middle\u2019 gap.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>
\nAdditionally, the Planning Board\u2019s recommendations support Montgomery County\u2019s regional housing targets<\/a>, which the Montgomery County Council adopted in 2019. \u201cWhat we are finding is that the decades of zoning policies that discourage or ban smaller scale, higher density housing have contributed to the \u2018missing middle\u2019 gap,\u201d said Gray. \u201cThis is reducing housing choice and is placing a particular burden on low- and moderate-income families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erin Dey, a Real Estate Director at DevNW<\/a>, a community-based economic development corporation located in Western Oregon supported this idea. \u201cWages are not increasing at the same rate as housing costs,\u201d said Dey. \u201cThe lack of housing diversity and housing typologies is a key player in keeping people from owning a home… expanding housing typologies is key.”<\/p>\n

\"Kellie

Kellie Brown (Arlington County Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development) presents the current challenges of Arlington\u2019s housing inventory.<\/p><\/div>\n

There is not just one solution to any community\u2019s housing problems. Issues must be addressed in a comprehensive way.<\/h3>\n

Our panelists illustrated throughout the event that there is not one single answer to any community\u2019s housing issues. When the Minneapolis City Council was reviewing its housing situation, there were not enough homes for the city\u2019s growing population. The city also lacked a variety of housing options for immigrants and seniors who wanted to age in place and was experiencing growing racial disparities in housing. Additionally, there was a lot of pressure placed on renters in a city where 52% of households were renters. How is the city combatting these issues? Through multiple tools and policies, as no one solution can tackle all of these problems.<\/p>\n

During the panel event, former Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender discussed how Minneapolis\u2019s comprehensive approach to housing policy was adopted in 2018 as part of the city\u2019s master plan, Minneapolis 2040<\/a>. Through this plan, the city legalized triplexes citywide, created inclusionary zoning requirements for market rate projects, eliminated parking minimums citywide, and added renter protections. The city implemented a series of policy changes to make housing more attainable for residents.<\/p>\n

Like Minneapolis, Montgomery Planning staff and the Montgomery County Planning Board have reviewed the county\u2019s housing attainability issue holistically and have offered multiple tools to create more diverse housing types. In addition to providing the Montgomery County Council with potential zoning modifications, the Draft Attainable Housing Strategies Final Report<\/a> includes:<\/p>\n