2024 Spring Issue of Urban Land - 77

" Anytime you introduce change, it brings
out the NIMBYs and the BANANAs [Building
Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything], "
she says.
The hearing process structure makes it
difficult for people with multiple jobs, single
mothers, and parents of young children to
attend, Gray says. City leaders should make
an effort to have every community member
heard.
" Maybe the person who shows up every
week to yell isn't representative of that community, "
Gray says. " Developers can build a
bipartisan coalition around zoning reform,
which includes a variety of stakeholders, such
as home builders, AARP, equity groups, the
local chamber of commerce, and real estate
agents. "
Garcia recommends that developers have
conversations with people in the communities
where they hope to build well before a project
is up for discussion.
" Developers need to do work on the front
end to avoid a fight and to have the data to
show that new housing can increase the value
of existing homes, " he says.
If city leaders recognize that both younger
people and older people value walkable
mixed-use communities more than they value
single-family homes, that could make zoning
reform politically easier, Thomas says.
In some cities, zoning reform is too limited,
whereas in others the process can stop development.
" A
big part of the problem in New York
City is that while the law says 20 percent of
all new developments must be affordable
housing, when my clients try to get permits,
they're told a development has to be 51 percent
affordable housing, " Bailey says. " If you
overreach and push developers too far, they
just walk away from the deal because it's
impossible to make money unless you get a
tax abatement. "
Despite D.C.'s success with encouraging
more housing to be built in places such
as NoMa and the Navy Yard, the city hasn't
touched zoning reform in most areas, especially
in neighborhoods with large single-family
homes, Schuetz says.
" In Los Angeles, zoning reform is concentrated
downtown, around transit stations and
in areas that were former surface parking lots, "
Schuetz says. " But the political bargain is that
zoning changes haven't affected West L.A.
It's the same thing in Boston, where the big
developments are in lower-to-middle income
neighborhoods in East Boston. "
Developer role in zoning reform
Cities that bring developers into the reform
process are more likely to see substantial
progress on increasing the supply of affordable
housing, Garcia says.
" In some cities, simply allowing housing
other than single-family homes doesn't necessarily
change what's built, " Garcia says. " Cities
need to ask what architects and developers
need and work backwards from there to make
comprehensive reform. If you don't change
the rules about setbacks or design elements,
it's a missed opportunity. "
Developers first need to be good corporate
citizens and get to know community leaders,
city leaders, and planners to build trust before
contentious conversations begin, Thomas says.
" They can be advocates for a community
benefit agreement in a place that's not ready
for a full-blown zoning overhaul, " she says.
" Maybe they can just request a relaxation of
building heights or demonstrate the need for
two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments in
a community where they're not built anymore.
They can offer to build a park in exchange for
things like shared parking instead of a garage
for every unit. "
Zoning reform is essential for any community
to thrive, Thomas says.
" Zoning reform is a process, " Gray says.
" We're rolling back 100 years of policy that
made it nearly impossible to build housing in
dense cities, so it will take time to fix .... But I
see progress happening everywhere, and anything
is possible over the next several years. "
For more information on zoning reform,
you can check out ULI's Reshaping the City:
Zoning for a More Equitable, Resilient, and
Sustainable Future on Knowledge Finder.
https://americas.uli.org/reshaping-the-cityreport
UL
MICHELE LERNER is a freelance writer, editor, and author covering
real estate, personal finance, and business topics for such publications
as the Washington Post, USA Today, and others.
SPRING 202 4
URBAN LAND
77
FEATURES
https://americas.uli.org/reshaping-the-city
2024 Spring Issue of Urban Land

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2024 Spring Issue of Urban Land
