Is the housing or community you dream to create illegal?
If so, your community is ripe for zoning reform
How creating better housing solutions has become illegal and the organisations that are working to reform these laws
Are you housing dreams currently illegal? If so, this is a good thing! It means you want to create something that is so ahead of its time that the law has not caught up with you yet!
Cohousing, Tiny Homes, Ecovillages, multiple dwellings on a rural property, smaller dwellings — most collective and alternative housing models have high standards of environmental practice, are more affordable, and offer better living conditions for residents yet are hampered by the current regulatory policies.
This is a global trend so know you’re not the only outlaw out there.
It’s urgent and imperative to unblock the biggest bottlenecks to doing collective and regenerative housing so that we are able to create the houses and neighbourhoods that create more social cohesion, that reduce emissions, reduce waste, use less energy, that cost less to buy and run, and many more benefits.
What makes these homes & developments illegal is the way they want to manage their land-use, water, waste, power and the size, number, or type of dwellings on the property. Many of these systems, focusing on sustainable and socially-beneficial outcomes, are currently not allowed by our building codes and zoning codes.
What has been exciting me recently is that I’ve found a lot of resources that tackle this zoning issue head on. There are a number of organisations and companies working to change these zoning codes and systems.
I’ll be writing a series on this topic so we can get a better understanding of how these entities are making headway in this zoning reform space so we can learn from their efforts and successes.
It’s not too often that you hear of developers creating community-centred neighbourhoods and rare that any would be stepping up to advocate for zoning changes. But, they do exist!
Here is the list of housing projects that have received zoning changes. that I’ll be covering over the next month in addition to Orange Splot which is covered in this edition:
What is zoning reform and how can it be done: Zoning Advocacy by Orange Splot
In this edition, I’m covering the work of Orange Splot. They are both a development company which focuses on building smaller homes on smaller plots with a community-focus but are also an advocacy powerhouse to appeal to local government to change zoning to accommodate the “missing middle” and for affordable and equitable housing.
Great work is being done in Portland and around the country to support housing types that use land, space, and energy more efficiently; are well-served by transit and neighborhood services; are designed to strengthen our local communities; and people can afford.
On their website they offer resources from advocates, developers, and others we think might help accelerate this critical evolution in local planning around residential development. They’ve included some articles and op-ed’s that do a great job of communicating these issues to the public. So don’t start from scratch … take, adapt, & use away!
Policy Advocacy
From the Orange Splot website: As an example, below are the policy recommendations in a letter written to their Mayor and Commissioners.
We urge you to support the “Missing middle” housing amendment (#P45) — but also to go further, by following the City Club’s recommendation to revise the zoning code to allow for middle housing types in residential neighborhoods across the City — not just near centers.
We also urge support for amendment #P46, setting a 10,000 unit goal for affordable housing
Offer density bonuses for smaller homes in residentially zoned portions of the city, with an extra density bonus for affordable housing with sales price and income restrictions.
One of the main drivers of expensive housing is minimum lot sizes. Portland needs more, and smaller lots.
Support an expansion of Portland’s accessory dwelling unit [similar to Granny Flats] program and an allowance for internal divisions of larger home.
Implement a mandatory Inclusionary Zoning policy, along with an excise tax on new construction of at least 1%, dedicated to affordable housing.
To see more of their zoning advocacy strategy, visit the Orange Splot Website
Making Big Sense of Small Homes
Article from the Orange Splot website
Portland implements age-friendly policies for “granny flats” and tiny houses
by AARP International and AARP Livable Communities
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are small, independent housing units created within single-family homes or on their lots. Although these homes are small, in many communities the complexities of building one are a big deal.
On top of zoning constraints and construction costs, some municipalities charge pricey fees that can make the project untenable.
That’s no longer the case in Portland, Oregon, which in 2010 significantly reduced (or “waived the largest”) municipal fees and adjusted the city’s zoning codes to make it easier for a homeowner to add an ADU to his or her property. An overriding reason for the change: to help residents age in place.
Recommended podcast: Regenerative Real Estate Episode: Creating vibrant, community-oriented housing with Eli Spevak (23 May 2020)
Eli Spevak has been developing affordable housing communities in Oregon for over 20 years, starting as a volunteer construction supervisor with Habitat for Humanity. In 2006, he launched Orange Splot, LLC to build new models of community-oriented, affordable, green housing development — ideally within an easy bike ride of his house. Eli was awarded a Loeb Fellowship in Advanced Environmental Studies at the Harvard GSD, co-founded www.accessorydwellings.org, co-founded Portland for Everyone, and now serves on Portland’s Planning and Sustainability Commission.
In this episode of The Regenerative Real Estate Podcast, Eli gets into his evolution of his career and his developments. This is a must listen for anyone wanting to live or development community-oriented projects!
Book: Everything I want to do is illegal
I added this book here because many alternative housing communities have a strong food focus, of wanting to grow their own food, whether it be urban agriculture or ecovillages.
His book exposes the US Agriculture system that favors industrial, global corporate food systems and discourages community-based food commerce, resulting in homogenized selection, mediocre quality, and exposure to non-organic farming practices.
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