New York State will need to build over 800,000 housing units during the next ten years to address current needs and meet expected population and job growth, according to new research by the Regional Plan Association. This is a 9.8% increase from the existing housing stock.
Unless bold actions are quickly implemented, the State will not be able to close such an enormous housing gap.
RPA’s numbers are consistent with recently released estimates from Governor Hochul’s announcement that the State needs to build 800,000 new units over the next ten years. She has pledged a bold and audacious housing agenda as part of her State of the State next month and has made clear that she views the next legislative session as crucial to addressing the state’s housing crisis.
New York City and State have failed to build enough housing over the past few decades. During the past decade, Suffolk and Nassau counties in Long Island only permitted seven residential units for every 1,000 residents. Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester in the Hudson Valley only permitted eight, 12, and 13 permits respectively. That same metric in Manhattan and Brooklyn is 31 units, which is low compared to peer cities but almost five times over when compared to Long Island and three times over Hudson Valley counties.
Years of under-building has created a shortage that has failed to provide adequate housing opportunities for everyone but is felt most acutely by workers, young people, and low and moderate-income households. Seniors are also likely to feel the effects–as owning a single-family home is neither financially nor physically viable for many of them.
There are many steps to addressing the affordability housing crisis.
A first and critical effort to measure housing scarcity is to calculate housing needs by region, including affordable housing needs, and assign each municipality its share of the regional housing and affordable housing units needed to meet current and future gaps. Defining housing needs by region or county could ensure municipalities understand expectations-–and then provide guidance to addressing them. A statewide housing needs assessment could also provide guidance and inform how to distribute state resources and incentives aimed at housing production at the local level. This is similar to the systems that states such as New Jersey, California, and others already have in place.
Closing our housing gap is a necessary first step to addressing housing affordability, stability, and quality. Once numeric housing needs are established, a series of policy options can help make meaningful progress toward closing the gap and set the groundwork for a rational housing ecosystem where everyone has access to a safe and stable home.
The Governor has an opportunity to take bold steps and let municipalities choose a set of policy choices that work for them. Some of these options could include:
Legalizing Accessory Dwelling Units: Based on Assemblymember Epstein and Senator Harckham’s 2021 Bill, this proposal would allow, as-of-right, one ADU per lot throughout New York State. Specifics could be left up to municipalities, however, the state could provide both overall parameters for the policy as well as a model ordinance.
Authorizing Transit-Oriented Development Zones: This would require municipalities to zone for, and streamline approval for, multi-family development near commuter rail stations, and possibly major bus stations. One approach comes from Massachusetts, which recently enacted a statewide law to require at least one 15-dwelling unit per acre zone near every transit station. Municipalities would be responsible for exacting zoning as long as they encompassed a certain amount of land within a certain distance of transit and met a density threshold.
- Enabling More Supportive Housing Sufficient Supportive Housing is a vital component of any housing production plan, and necessary to make sure that we meet the housing needs of all residents of New York State. Both funding and unit goals for supportive housing statewide should be increased. New regulatory relief should also make it easier to convert existing buildings to supportive housing, expanding on the Housing Our Neighbors With Dignity Act (HONDA) and the recent legislation signed by the governor in June.
Authorizing Employment-Oriented Development Zones: This would require municipalities to zone for, and streamline approval for, multi-family development near employment centers, including office parks, and possibly light industrial zones. With new zoning that encourages more diverse uses and greater density at strategic locations around employment centers, as well as public realm improvements, these new mixed-use areas have the capacity to foster a more vibrant business environment, capable of hosting workforce housing development hotspots.
Reducing minimum lot size requirements: This would allow municipalities to enact a policy that reduces minimum lot size requirements to 5000 square feet in areas with municipal water/sewer capacity, 20,000 feet without sewered areas, and would allow for the as-of-right subdivision of existing larger lots. One proposal is Senator Hoylman’s bill S7574 from last session.
Eliminating or reducing parking minimums: This would direct municipalities to reduce, and in transit-served locations eliminate, residential off-street parking requirements. This policy is best coupled with the minimum lot size reforms above.
Streamlining permitting: Similar to Massachusetts 40B law this would establish a process for streamlined approval of affordable housing developments in municipalities that have less than 10% affordable housing. Senator Rachel May from Syracuse has introduced similar concepts as S7635.
Authorizing as-of-right mixed-use development zones: This would require municipalities to institute an as-of-right mixed-use development zone of a certain size and capacity, which would permit multi-family residential development in commercial zones.
Submitting a local housing growth and affordability plan: In cases where municipalities do not want to implement any of the above options, they could have the option to submit their own plan to New York State detailing how they will meet their housing need. The state would have the discretion to approve or disapprove of such a plan.
There are many other policy options being used across the country to address a pressing shortage of housing beyond what is listed here. Different tools will work best in different places and no one tool will be a silver bullet to meet our current and future demand for housing.
New York State must act to ensure that New Yorkers can afford to live here and that we are a place that welcomes the future residents and workforce we need for our economy and communities to thrive.
