Regarding the Role of Local Governments in Accessory Dwelling Unit Siting
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on this important subject. Regional Plan Association (RPA) is a not-for-profit research, planning, and advocacy organization that has served the New York metropolitan region for nearly a century.
RPA fully supports the New York State Accessory Homes Act. We believe the proposed legislation would help downstate counties from Sullivan to Suffolk create tens of thousands of new homes in a radical way - by using their existing housing stock. The Accessory Homes Act would legalize accessory dwelling units - also known as ADUs - statewide, making it easier for homeowners to create these assets and easier for renters to take advantage of them.
Need for More Housing Options
More than half of homes in the United States are currently selling above list price. The Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index has been steadily increasing over the past decade. What’s worse is it has grown more rapidly throughout the pandemic.
The housing market of the New York metro region has experienced similar - and even starker patterns. Throughout the previous decade - and leading up to the pandemic - the region has seen how housing demand has outpaced supply. In places like Westchester and Nassau Counties, population grew at twice the rate when compared to all new housing built. Over the past two decades, New York City permitted over 400,000 units (more than any municipality in the region), and at the same time, it created even more jobs, with a net balance of 363,000 more jobs than units.
By the end of 2020, housing sales (a proxy for demand) accelerated sharply, prices were higher, and inventory was down year on year. Long Island and Hudson Valley, in particular, saw the greatest correlation in the region between a decreasing inventory, increasing sales, and a growing median list price. With less new construction, and now a decreasing supply of available housing for purchase, these suburban areas are less well equipped to accommodate current increases in demand.
By not facilitating the creation of new housing (in some cases by explicitly prohibiting without due cause), some local governments are hindering the region’s economic potential to meet current and future population needs. This exacerbates regional housing pressures and heightens the housing affordability crisis with disparate effects.
In New York State and prior to the pandemic, more than 1,000,000 owner-occupied households (28% of all owners) were putting more than a third of their monthly income towards mortgages and/or maintenance costs. New York State renters are in worse condition. Approximately 1,600,000 renter households (52% of all renters) meet the same definition of being housing cost-burdened.
The pandemic has exacerbated housing scarcity and insecurity - for renters and owners alike. These conditions affect seniors, BIPOC, and younger people more than other groups. Within the tri-state region, approximately 130,000 seniors currently live alone in single-family homes. The share of a municipality’s single-family housing stock is often correlated with racial segregation. The current housing shortage and record-high selling prices are bad news for aspiring homebuyers, but especially for millennials who have already endured multiple housing crises.
More often than not, and in the case of the New York metro area, our shared housing market crosses over political jurisdictions. Addressing our housing crisis cannot be resolved by working in silos. Nor will it be addressed if different levels of government are not synchronized to deploy coordinated efforts. Local and State laws governing existing and new housing stock must recognize regional and statewide needs, and act accordingly.
ADUs Benefits and Potential
Last year RPA released an analysis showing how policymakers in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut could help create hundreds of thousands of new homes by providing a regulatory framework for adding more units to some of the region’s nearly four million large single-family houses.
The report, entitled Be My Neighbor: Untapped Housing Solutions — ADUs and Conversions, estimated that 500,000 homes, including over 100,000 in New York City, can be created at a low cost. In some instances, these could be entirely new units, in some others, these would be retrofits of existing ADUs that would be brought into compliance and safety standards. State and city governments need to allow for ADUs and develop the appropriate balance of incentives for large single- and two-family houses to include additional units.
Based on legitimate safety, environmental, and infrastructure considerations, localities should retain reasonable discretion in siting ADUs. As the flooding events from Hurricane Ida made clear, common sense safety and environmental issues must remain at the forefront. But this should not give reason to making use of obstructionist and arbitrary mechanisms preventing ADUs and promoting exclusion. In addition to safety and environment, one of the factors that municipalities can take into account in siting ADUs, and in relation to parking requirements, is proximity to transit and level of service. If parking requirements are relaxed and managed properly, half of these new and retrofitted units would be near transit with easy access to jobs and business centers.
RPA has highlighted the importance of incentivizing ADUs and conversions through State legislation. We emphasized the importance of each State to establish policies that specify the rights of owners, provide guidelines for the creation of new housing units, and give financial and technical assistance to communities.
The need to incentivize more housing choice is clear. The recent passage of legislation in California, Oregon, Massachusetts, by our neighbors in Connecticut, and the introduction of this bill in New York State demonstrates a growing recognition that - State government’s role in addressing the housing shortage must be a proactive one.
The role State policy must play in enabling social and economic benefits through housing is also supported by constituents in the region. 74% of residents surveyed by RPA and Global Strategy Group during the spring of 2021 support policies to create more affordable housing in the region. A more recent version of the survey found 66% of residents surveyed in the region (69% in New York City) support the creation of housing through ADUs and conversions.
The potential for using ADUs to help address our housing shortage is also supported by our Federal government. The White House recently mandated the expansion of financing available through Freddie Mac, as well as updates to Fannie Mae’s and policies of the Federal Housing Administration’s and Federal Housing Financing Agency to support the creation of ADUs and conversions in coordination with state and local governments.
Various levels of government in New York State can - and should - be proactive in taking advantage of these new opportunities. This could take the form of low-interest loans, rebates, and even grants to help address safety and environmental concerns. Together State and local governments should be creating new funding mechanisms and leveraging federal funding to spur state and local actions that create regulatory consistency for housing and land-use decisions in the region, including for ADUs and conversions. Local and State governments must work together to ensure consistency and facilitate economies of scale for the design, financing, and construction industries, but most importantly its residents.
Conclusion
The proposed NYS Accessory Homes Act would provide a path for ADU creation. The bill would achieve this by establishing policies that specify the rights of owners, providing guidelines for the creation of new housing units, and offering financial and technical assistance to communities.
Enacting this bill would help the State meet the housing needs of its diverse population, contribute to racial and socioeconomic integration across neighborhoods, and provide income opportunities for seniors and low-moderate homeowners who are currently struggling with housing costs.
We encourage New York State legislators, including both State and Assembly members to support and enact this important bill.
