Combined with the recent decision to eliminate parking minimums, the move to end single-family zoning could help make housing more affordable.
Months after ending minimum parking requirements, the city of Austin voted to eliminate single-family zoning and allow up to three homes on each residential lot, reports Austin Sanders in The Austin Chronicle. “Property owners will also be able to install tiny homes on their property and owners of older homes will be able to utilize new bonuses designed to incentivize the preservation of existing homes that meet certain criteria.”
The new rule, called Home Options for Middle-Income Empowerment (HOME), doesn’t apply in the city’s Neighborhood Conservation Combining Districts (NCCD). Recognizing the new housing arrangements prompted in part by the high cost of housing, it also eliminates rules about unrelated housemates, legalizing increasingly popular co-living arrangements. Sanders notes that “Property owners will also be limited by private deed restrictions and homeowners associations that limit the number of homes built on a single lot.”
FULL STORY: After Long Day of Testimony, Council Votes to End Single-Family Zoning
Portland, Maine Embraces Zoning Reform for Multifamily Housing
The Portland City Council amended the land use code to allow up to four units on all residential lots on the mainland, and up to three on island lots. It also eliminated parking requirements for these uses.
Vancouver Poised to Increase Residential Zoning
The city council will vote on a proposal to eliminate single-family only zoning in favor of rules that would allow up to six units per residential lot.
Zoning Reform Proposed in Austin
Proposed changes would create more room for mid-density housing and shift away from single-family homes on large lots.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association