Middle | June 29, 2023
The Role of Middle Housing in Tackling America’s Housing Challenge
From large cities and metropolitan areas to smaller cities and towns, communities across the country are grappling with rising housing costs. In most local jurisdictions, zoning ordinances have resulted in only two types of allowable housing: single-detached homes or mid- to high-rise multifamily residential buildings. Often, most land zoned for residential use only permits single-detached housing, resulting in limited housing options and ever-rising costs to buy or rent as demand for housing outpaces supply.
zoning | May 24, 2023
Land Use Regulations, Local Zoning Ordinances, and Homelessness
This piece defines land use regulations and zoning ordinances. It describes the roles that cities, counties, and states can play in adapting or implementing policies to lower housing costs and boost the affordable housing supply for low-income households.
Condo Defect Liability | January 23, 2023
How Condominium Defect Liability (CDL) Legislation Can Drive Underproduction
While protecting home buyers and tenants is essential, current policies are not well calibrated to both protect condo owners and ensure strong market conditions. In the highly litigious environments of some states, the risk of building condominiums is just too high, not only for builders and developers, but also for contractors, subcontractors, insurers, and funders.
Exclusionary Zoning | December 23, 2022
Up for Growth Action Applauds Passage of Key Housing Provisions in 2023 Omnibus Bill
The bill includes $85 million in competitive Community Development Block Grants to reward state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations and multijurisdictional entities that eliminate or reform exclusionary zoning, discriminatory land-use policies and other local barriers to increase the supply of affordable housing.
Guest Post | November 10, 2022
Parking Reform Integral to Solving Housing Underproduction
For over 60 years, cities have imposed minimum parking mandates for most land uses, mandates whose impacts, particularly on contributing to housing underproduction, are well established. Car parking is expensive to build and maintain, and these costs are passed on to residents whether they own cars or not. An above-ground structure can easily cost $30,000 […]
Guest Post | November 4, 2022
Build housing everywhere, New York
The City Council just made a real mistake on the rezoning of a block in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn. It’s not the biggest project, but it’s consequential nonetheless for the message it sends and could be an augur of things to come. The Council had the opportunity to bring 85 units of housing to a neighborhood […]
Guest Post | August 25, 2022
Confessions of an Impact Fee Pioneer
Impact fees are part of an infrastructure financing system that, as currently configured in many local governments across the nation, acts as a strong barrier to the building of needed housing, particularly affordable homes. After years of academic and advocacy work in this area, I have developed a set of recommendations to address some of the […]
| May 16, 2022
Up for Growth Action Praises Administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan
Washington, DC – Up for Growth Action, a federal advocacy organization that advocates for policies to achieve housing equity, eliminate systemic barriers, and create more homes, today released the following statement from CEO Mike Kingsella, who praised the Biden Administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan, a multi-faceted proposal designed to address the nation’s urgent housing affordability and supply crisis: “The […]
| May 11, 2022
National Coalition Says Retooling LERTA Tax Incentive Program Could Enhance Pittsburgh’s New Inclusionary Zoning Law
Marriage of Pittsburgh's Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Program with new inclusionary housing rules could make program more workable and spur additional housing production
| February 22, 2022
GBX Group CEO Drew Sparacia Joins Up for Growth Action Board of Directors
Washington, DC – Up for Growth Action, a federal advocacy organization that advocates for policies to achieve housing equity, eliminate systemic barriers, and create more homes, today announced the appointment of Drew Sparacia to its board of directors. Sparacia is Founding Partner and CEO of Cleveland-based GBX Group, a real estate investment firm specializing in preserving, […]
