The bill is a bipartisan effort in the Senate to ease regulations for housing development and reward cities and states that support pro-housing policies.
The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee advanced a bipartisan housing bill called the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act, reports Ryan Kushner for Smart Cities Dive.
The bill reduces environmental regulations for new housing and incentivizes development through grants for cities that promote policies that “remove regulatory barriers to the construction or preservation of housing units, including affordable housing units.”
The bill includes over 27 provisions that address housing affordability from a few angles. Among other things, the bill would exempt some projects from NEPA review, reform manufactured housing regulations to eliminate the chassis requirement that hinders more widespread adoption of modular housing type, and require states and cities to reform zoning codes to meet their housing needs.
One proposal would create a $200 million Innovation Fund grant program for jurisdictions that implement “demonstrable ways to expand housing supply in their jurisdictions.”
Read the full story: Senate tackles housing affordability crisis with bipartisan bill
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