The ‘Yes In My Backyard’ grants are designed to help cities identify the most effective avenues for increasing density and spurring more housing construction in historically reluctant neighborhoods.

An $85 million federal grant program included in the omnibus funding package passed late last year aims to counter NIMBY opposition to new housing development and help cities pass zoning reforms that encourage increased housing production, higher density, and transit-oriented development, writes Kery Murakami in Route Fifty.
According to the omnibus, HUD will award grants to cities that demonstrate ‘a commitment to overcoming local barriers to facilitate the increase in affordable housing production and preservation.’ Cities with ‘an acute demand’ for housing affordable to households below the median income in their area will also get preference for the grants.
A prior proposal by President Biden called for federal grants for cities that eliminate ‘exclusionary’ zoning laws, but it was not included in the bipartisan infrastructure law. “However, Biden in his budget request last March called for the creation of a $10 billion state and local grant program to encourage and support zoning changes that would allow more kinds of housing to go up in what are often largely white and wealthier neighborhoods.”
The federal initiative is partly modeled on a Washington state program that awards grants to cities “to examine how their zoning policies were restricting the supply of housing, as a shortage of homes contributed to sharply rising real estate prices.” The program yielded changes to zoning codes in Tacoma, Walla Walla, and other cities.
FULL STORY: The New Federal Grants to Help Cities Ditch 'NIMBY'-backed Zoning

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

North Texas Transit Leaders Tout Benefits of TOD for Growing Region
At a summit focused on transit-oriented development, policymakers discussed how North Texas’ expanded light rail system can serve as a tool for economic growth.

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Santa Barbara Could Build Housing on County Land
County supervisors moved forward a proposal to build workforce housing on two county-owned parcels.

San Mateo Formally Opposes Freeway Project
The city council will send a letter to Caltrans urging the agency to reconsider a plan to expand the 101 through the city of San Mateo.

A Bronx Community Fights to Have its Voice Heard
After organizing and giving input for decades, the community around the Kingsbridge Armory might actually see it redeveloped — and they want to continue to have a say in how it goes.
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