Cities across the country are relaxing their zoning regulations, and particularly single-family zoning, to address the affordable housing crisis. Some cities, such as Minneapolis, have completely done away with single-family zoning. And the Biden Administration has suggested that local governments will be required to relax their zoning regulations if they want to receive certain federal…
In March 2020, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded to the pandemic by following the herd and shutting down “non-essential” businesses across the state. In doing so, he prevented business owners from finding innovative ways to remain open while keeping employees and customers safe. He prevented individuals from judging the risks posed by COVID-19 and then…
Progressives in Washington State are applauding recently passed laws giving tenants expanded “rights.” The laws include greater restrictions on the ability of landlords to evict tenants, the right to counsel during evictions, and a requirement that landlords offer a “reasonable” payment plan for tenants who are behind on their rent. Despite the rhetoric of Progressives,…
Legislators across the country are scrambling to develop policies that will lead to more affordable housing. (Affordable housing means that a family is paying 30 percent or less of its income on housing.) One of the most popular schemes is to provide tax credits for developers who agree to set aside a percentage of their…
In 2017, the Austin City Council adopted the Strategic Housing Blueprint, which set a goal for the city to build 135,000 new affordable housing units within ten years. According to the city’s own website, in the first two years of the plan, the city built a total of 16,253 housing units, or about 60 percent…
The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled on the case of Powell v. City of Houston. The plaintiffs had claimed that Houston’s preservation ordinance violated the city charter, which prohibits zoning without a referendum. The preservation ordinance, the plaintiffs held, is a form of zoning. In its ruling, the Court agreed that the ordinance is zoning,…
Housing advocates lament the fact that a full-time worker making minimum wage can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment. This, they want us to believe, is an example of the affordable housing crisis. But they fail to explain why a two-bedroom apartment is the standard. They fail to explain why a one-bedroom apartment or a studio apartment…
A coalition of residents, activists, and students is conducting a public shakedown on Rice University because of its Ion technology development building in Houston’s Third Ward. Rice has already given tentative approval to an agreement with the city that would have the university establish a venture fund to provide financing for black and Latino entrepreneurs,…
While proclaiming that the city has an affordable housing crisis, Seattle’s city council is doing everything imaginable—and a few things that are unimaginable—to make the crisis worse. In 2020, the city council passed a law that prohibits evictions from December 1 to March 1. But apparently that wasn’t enough to satisfy housing advocates, and Seattle’s…
Since 2016, California has enacted numerous pieces of legislation that pave the way for the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). ADUs are also known as granny flats and in-law units, and they serve as a secondary housing unit on a parcel of land. The purpose of these laws is to stimulate the production of…
Two weeks ago, the Texas Senate passed HB 2730, an action that many are proclaiming as a victory for property rights. However, the bill is a non-victory because it does absolutely nothing to protect property rights. The Texas Farm Bureau, which supported the bill, reports two positive aspects of the bill: [A]n entity [using eminent…