Overview

Local governments are generally responsible for overseeing land use policies, which regulate the supply of housing in their communities. But while some local governments have taken steps to increase housing supply to accommodate growth, others have continued to artificially restrict supply by putting up obstacles to new development, particularly affordable—usually multifamily—developments. One investigation found that more than three dozen towns in Connecticut have not allowed construction of any duplexes or apartments for at least the last two decades.

To ensure reluctant cities and towns build their fair share of housing, some states have passed legislation shifting control of housing away from local policymakers and creating enforcement units that hold local governments accountable to meeting housing targets set by the state. These often involve a so-called “builder’s remedy,” which allows developers of affordable housing projects to build housing that may not comply with local zoning codes in places that have failed to meet their mandated housing goals.

Examples of This Strategy in Action

• California began requiring all of its cities and counties to adequately plan for the housing needs of its residents in 1969. As part of this process, known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) determines the housing need by income level for each region, based on data on demographic trends and housing conditions. Local governments are then required to develop housing plans—which must be approved by the HCD—showing how they can build enough housing to meet local needs.

  In 2021, in light of widespread noncompliance and a rapidly worsening housing shortage, Governor Gavin Newsom created a Housing Accountability Unit within the HCD, with the goal of expanding local enforcement and accelerating new housing construction in the state. The unit works with local governments to provide technical assistance and review policies that may hinder new development, and it enforces the state’s housing target of 2.5 million new units by 2030. Penalties for failing to meet state targets range from fines to a loss of local control over land use. Since its creation, the unit has helped to clear the path for the development of nearly 1,700 new homes, of which 600 are affordable.

• Massachusetts also requires its municipalities to create and submit housing production plans, which must be approved by the state Department of Housing and Community Development every five years. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40B, adopted in 1969, requires municipalities to maintain at least 10 percent of total housing stock for affordable housing. In municipalities that fail to do this, developers are able to petition for comprehensive permits that allow them to develop housing that may not comply with the local zoning code, provided that the housing is at least 20 to 25 percent affordable.

  By many accounts, Chapter 40B has successfully increased the amount of affordable housing across the state—it had produced nearly 58,000 units as of 2012, 53 percent of which are affordable, and has helped reduce exclusionary zoning in the state. Chapter 40B has also served as the basis of model legislation for many other states, including Connecticut, Illinois, and Rhode Island.

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