Smart Growth Hurts Home Ownership

"America's commitment to providing every citizen with homeownership opportunities is facing a serious challenge as more and more entry-level homebuyers are priced out of the market by poorly conceived "smart growth" initiatives. These initiatives, which attempt to limit a community's growth and development through such regulations as growth boundaries, lower population densities, "downzoning," impact fees, construction prohibitions, and land set-asides, have the effect of raising home prices and discouraging homeownership. As a result, one of America's greatest public policy successes--its historically high homeownership rate--is at risk."