Speaker Shekarchi announces his sixth package of housing bills
“Our advocacy is working: Rhode Island is becoming a model
for housing policy in other states,” said Speaker Shekarchi. “We’ve passed more
than 60 new housing laws that are having real results. The creation of a new
land-use court calendar reduced the backlog of pending cases by nearly half
within its first year of implementation. It’s no coincidence that reducing red
tape has led to a significant rise in building permits. In 2023, we had a 70%
rise in building permits, the most in a single year since the Great Recession.
“But building takes time, and we are still trying to play
catch-up for all the years that Rhode Island was dead last in the country for
new housing starts. While Rhode Island remains a relatively affordable option
for people moving here from other states, our own residents are too often
priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in. The sad reality is that there
is a direct correlation between rising housing costs and increased
homelessness. This winter alone, at least four people froze to death because they
were unhoused. That is completely unacceptable. Until all of our neighbors have
a safe place to sleep at night, this work must continue.”
The announced bills are:
- Infill
subdivision for housing: Upon passage, this legislation would
allow property owners in areas with water and sewer capacity to subdivide
property for single-family residential development under certain limited
conditions and requirements.
- Parking
maximums: Upon passage, this legislation would establish maximum
parking requirements for multifamily housing in areas accessible by public
transit. It follows initiatives in other states in reducing parking
requirements.
- Homeless
Bill of Rights: Upon passage, this legislation would add a
requirement to Rhode Island’s existing Homeless Bill of Rights that at
least a 15-day notice be given to individuals/families affected by the
disbanding of an encampment, subject to emergency and safety exceptions.
- SAFE
bill: Upon passage, this legislation would enable
cities and towns to allow Supportive and Functional Emergency units (“SAFE
Units,” such as Pallet shelters) to operate temporarily during an
emergency declaration. This legislation would enable cities and towns to
respond quickly in the event of severe weather and/or natural or
manufactured disasters.
- Single
staircase: Upon passage, this legislation would amend the state
building code to allow single-staircase construction in residential
buildings up to four floors and 16 units, but the construction would
remain subject to all applicable fire code requirements.
- Technical
amendments: This legislation is based on feedback received by the
Land Use Commission and various stakeholders, including local
municipalities, developers, planners, and other advocates. The legislation
seeks to clarify and amend the processes, terms, references, and
requirements outlined in the Zoning Enabling Act, Low- and Moderate-Income
Housing Act, and Subdivision Act.
- Vacant
land/properties: Upon passage, this legislation would allow the
adaptive reuse of state-owned vacant buildings by right. The legislation
would enable the redevelopment/adaptive reuse of vacant municipal
buildings into housing and also amend the redevelopment program to convert
municipal schools.
- Commission
to study and review the Condominium Act: Upon passage, this
legislation would establish a commission to study potential modernization
of and updates to the state’s Condominium Act, which has not been reviewed
or amended in more than a decade.
- Affordable
housing tax assessment and valuation: Upon passage, this
legislation would impose limits on tax rates for new construction of
residential rental units that include certain percentages of affordable
housing in either new construction or adaptive reuse projects.
The legislation has also been influenced by two housing
commissions established by Speaker Shekarchi. Some of the announced legislation
would amend existing housing laws based on feedback from these commissions.
“… this year in particular, the package addresses the struggles that renters sometimes face finding affordable, stable housing that meets their families’ needs,” said Representative June Speakman (Democrat, District 68, Warren, Bristol), who chairs the Special Legislative Commission to Affordable Housing. Speaking about the larger goals of her committee, Speakman said, “We will make better use of vacant spaces and buildings. We’ve developed some creative financial tools (like) the land bank, and I have great faith in the public developer. This coming year, we are looking at new building materials and processes to ensure tenants live in safe, clean units. We’re working on permitting and inspections, and, God help us all, the building code. This is a complicated area of public policy, and all of these voices have to be at the table to make sure that we get it right. It’s an ongoing iterative process.”
“I’ve thought a lot about what the land use commission has
done and what we’ve looked at, and I think the best way to describe it is ‘back
to the future,’” said Thomas Deller, Johnston Town Planner and
Chair of the House’s Land
Use Commission. “If you go back and look at the original zoning
enabling legislation proposed to guide development, it was designed to allow
communities to create a vision of what they wanted to achieve. Unfortunately,
over time, we added more and more processes and steps, making the process
convoluted, difficult, and time-consuming. Nothing we have done limits a
community’s right to set its vision and the rules to move it forward.
Deller added:
“All we’re asking communities to do is think about how to
make that vision happen more quickly and more efficiently, to develop the
housing we desperately need in Rhode Island. I will tell you, from my own
personal experience, that in Johnston, where I work, the housing permits have
gone up because we’ve allowed the rules to be implemented and used. There has
been controversy surrounding it, but we’ve seen growth in housing.
“I think this package is a little simpler than our previous
ones, but it’s an incremental step forward, and we have to remember that
development is not static. It is changing. New materials come in, new processes
come in, new types of housing. We need to stay open to the ideas. We need to
stay open to how we achieve the vision of housing that we have for this state.
“Much of the legislation stems from testimony and
discussions by both commissions, which have been meeting regularly since July
2022 to address ways Rhode Island can meet its affordable housing needs in a
sustainable and equitable manner.”
“…while the progress is real, our data clearly show that
housing instability remains urgent for our working families,” said Cortney
Nicolato, President and CEO of United Way of Rhode Island. “Nearly
half of Rhode Island households are either in poverty or what we call ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained,
Employed). These are working families: healthcare aides, teachers,
retail managers, and municipal workers. They earn too much to qualify for most
assistance, but not enough to handle sudden rent increases. For our ALICE
households, housing costs are the largest and least flexible expense in their
monthly budget. This package of bills adds much-needed flexibility to
regulatory practices and offers innovative incentives for developers, aimed at
ensuring all Rhode Islanders can have a safe and affordable place to call
home.”
Nicolato continued:
“The top reason Rhode Islanders call United Ways’
211 system for help is housing and utility assistance. These requests
account for about one in three calls, and most callers are employed. They are
working, but housing costs are rising faster than their wages. Just a few
months ago, 211 was contacted by a single mother working full-time in
healthcare. She had received a $300 monthly rent increase. At the same time,
her car needed repairs so she could continue commuting to work. She was not
irresponsible. She was simply one unexpected expense away from eviction. With
short-term help and support with her budgeting, she was able to keep her home
and her children in their school. That’s what stability looks like, and that’s
what our volatility threatens.
“Through our Aging and Disabilities Resource Center,
we also see a growing number of older adults on fixed income struggling with
rising rents and housing costs. Many are choosing between housing, medication,
or food.
“Housing stability is not just an affordability issue. It is
a public health and aging issue. We need to increase housing supply through
infill development and adaptive reuse. We need parking reforms and land-use
modernization to lower costs and reduce development barriers. Our housing bill
of rights and safe units we know work and should be used wherever possible.
That gives structure and dignity.
“Affordable housing tax reform helps create long-term
predictability, which protects renters from sudden changes. Housing production
and housing stability must move forward. We must continue to create
flexibility, implement these important policies, and monitor the effectiveness
of this work. Until every Rhode Islander has a safe and stable place to call
home, we continue the work.”
“Rhode Island’s housing crisis is not a new phenomenon,”
said Melina Lodge, executive director of the Housing Network of Rhode Island.
“It’s been four decades in the making. Along the way, a series of choices have
been made, some large, some small, and some seemingly insignificant. Choices
about how to invest state financial resources, about balancing local control
against a broader state need, and about devising regulations that shape our
built and natural environments. Over time, those choices have compounded,
creating an environment where no community in Rhode Island can afford to buy a
home, or where no household earning less than $50,000 a year can afford the
average two-bedroom apartment.”
Lodge continued:
“One-third of Rhode Islanders are cost-burdened, spending
more than 30% of their gross income just to keep a roof over their heads, and
Rhode Islanders are acutely aware of this. In a poll conducted this past summer
by the Rhode Island Survey Institute at the University of Rhode Island, 93% of
respondents identified housing costs as a major problem. This isn’t a partisan
issue. This isn’t a suburban, urban, or rural issue. This is a shared reality
for Rhode Islanders. Today is about more than nine pieces of legislation. In
fact, it’s more than even the 50 bills that have passed in the last five years.
Every proposed bill, local ordinance, comprehensive plan update, and public
hearing is an invitation to engage, debate, and discuss, and yeah, sometimes to
disagree.
“If we remain open to listening, adapting, and working in partnership, we can build a housing system that is more equitable, accessible, and responsive to the needs of all Rhode Islanders. This package is a step in that direction. That’s the work before us. That’s the work worth doing, and I look forward to continuing to do it together.”
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