21st Century ROAD to Housing Act – What Local Officials Should Know
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act provides local governments with additional tools to support housing development, particularly the “missing middle” homes many communities need. These may include smaller single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes and neighborhood-scale apartment buildings that fit comfortably into established neighborhoods and provide options for younger families, seniors wishing to downsize and middle-income households. While many of the law’s provisions will be implemented over time through federal agencies and future appropriations, communities can begin preparing now to take advantage of new housing and infrastructure opportunities as they become available.
Local governments should not assume that every new funding opportunity is immediately available. Some provisions require federal rulemaking or future appropriations. Even so, communities can begin preparing now by identifying redevelopment sites, reviewing zoning that allows missing-middle housing, updating housing plans, and discussing potential projects with county partners, regional planning agencies, housing organizations, and experienced developers.
For smaller cities, villages, and townships, the greatest opportunity may be using these tools together rather than relying on a single funding source. A community may combine local brownfield or tax increment financing where available, local capital improvements, state housing resources, and expanded federal housing programs to close financing gaps that previously prevented modest projects from moving forward.
One of the Act's most important changes is expanded flexibility for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and federal HOME funding, along with proposing new grant and pilot programs for new construction and repair programs. In many circumstances these programs can now play a larger role in supporting affordable housing construction, workforce housing, and related infrastructure. The law also makes it easier to coordinate federal assistance with local redevelopment efforts and authorizes innovation programs that may help finance streets, utilities, water, sewer, sidewalks, and other public improvements that are often needed before housing can be built.
Communities do not need to wait for every provision of the Act to be fully implemented before preparing for future opportunities. Local officials should consider taking several steps now to identify potential projects, address barriers and position their communities to make effective use of available funding:
- Identify priority housing sites. Consider which vacant, underused or redevelopment properties could realistically accommodate new housing and which sites are most important to the community’s broader development goals.
- Review zoning and land-use requirements. Evaluate whether existing zoning permits duplexes, townhomes, small multifamily developments, infill housing, and other missing-middle housing in locations where the community would like to encourage it, and identify changes that may be needed.
- Assess infrastructure constraints. Determine whether water, sewer, roads, sidewalks, utilities or other public improvements could prevent otherwise viable housing projects from moving forward.
- Evaluate available funding tools. Identify local, state and federal resources that could potentially be combined to address financing gaps, infrastructure needs or other project costs.
- Develop a project pipeline. Communities do not need to have fully formed developments ready today, but they should identify the sites and projects they would be prepared to advance as new funding opportunities become available.
- Begin conversations early. Engage developers, county and regional partners, housing organizations, planners, bond counsel and other advisers before a specific funding deadline arises so that potential projects and financing strategies can be evaluated in advance.
For many communities, particularly those seeking 'missing middle' housing, thoughtful planning today may position them to take advantage of these opportunities as implementation continues. It will be particularly important for local units of government to make your voice heard during the regulatory development process that will implement many of the provisions of the Act, as many future funding opportunities will be tied to the adoption of best practices yet to be developed.
Contact your Miller Canfield attorney with questions about 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and economic development opportunities in your community.
