Ohio Economists: Relax Zoning to Lower Housing Costs

"Less-strict residential zoning standards […] would make homes cheaper in the future," according to an article by Marty Schladen.

Schladen is sharing the results of a survey of the Ohio Experts Panel by Scioto Analysis. Of the 26 economists surveyed, 22 agreed that removing exclusionary and Euclidean zoning regulations would reduce housing costs. "Some even argued that it would make for better neighborhoods," writes Schladen.

"Rigid zoning standards in residential areas have been criticized for driving up costs and excluding people with lesser incomes — perhaps intentionally. They often exclude all but single-family homes and sometimes impose minimum lot sizes, two measures virtually guaranteed to increase costs," writes Schladen.

More survey results, along with a history of zoning and the discriminatory side-effects caused by practices like redlining, are included in the source article. The article also references the effects of single-family zoning specific to Cincinnati.