A different approach to housing?

Time and time again, the conversation around the lack of housing in the country always revolves around the lack of investment into housing developments. And even when looking at new developments as a solution to the low housing stock, the prices of such new units are always at a high where only people with high incomes can afford rent.

But what if there was a way where the solution can be found right in your home?

This approach deals with zoning laws and regulations, which is an often overlooked aspect when discussing housing in the United States.

The CIty (and town) of Ithaca, New York is one city of many where the zoning laws prohibit resolving the low housing stock.

For example, current zoning laws, specifically under the District Regulations Code from the CIty of Ithaca, each type of residential establishment has a minimum square footage requirement that must be met. For a multi-family dwelling of at least 3 units, there must be a minimum of 6000 square feet. For some developers or even private individuals, this is not something that can be met.

Alderperson Robert Cantelmo, also spoke on the zoning laws, stating that the current code does not make it possible for owners to even construct a separate unit from their main home, which is not even included in the city code at all. And even if it was, the numbers of square footage alone that the city demands is easily too much for an owner to adhere to.

The question is though, why isn’t zoning considered more. It may very well be that when people consider zoning laws, they think of business constructions and sidewalks being constructed, but never homes.

Considering how many landlords in Ithaca are not developers but rather ordinary people, and given the fact that Ithaca is already an expensive place to live in and how people with no tenants may want to rent out a space for them in their backyard, Ithaca needs to do better in educating their residents about how important zoning really is, and find solutions to allow more to be built without such strict rules.