Louise
Gorenflo
October
10, 2018
While MPC sees
duplexes “as a tool that helps address affordable housing and the availability
of housing, based on the past history there won’t be a lot of activity. I don’t know why the duplexes are not a more
viable option for people. Maybe that
will change in time.”
City Council members took away from MPC that city residents
actually were not all that interested in developing small multifamily
housing. Councilman Robert asked,
“OK. If I’m understanding you correctly, what you
are saying in areas where duplexes are allowed, you’re not seeing a lot of
applications nor are you seeing a lot of people building duplexes. But we are expanding where duplexes could be
in the draft. So if we are not seeing a
need for it out there expressed in the market place, why are we then adding
more space for duplexes?”
Thankfully our affordable housing sleuth, Matt Sterling, solved
this mystery. I encourage you to read his full report here. Spoiler alert: the slayer of new duplexes is zoning.
For example, in a
proposed RN-1 district, you can build by special use review a duplex. But you need a 15,000 sq. ft. lot to do that
in areas that have an average lot size below 7500 sq. ft. In some central city neighborhoods, 70% of the single family
homes do not meet the minimum required lot size, so a builder might have to end
up having to buy three lots to build one duplex.
So if you were a
builder with a 15,000 sq. ft. lot, would you choose to build one duplex or two or
maybe three single family homes? That
seems a no brainer choice. But on top of
that, if you chose the duplex, you would then need to get the property
up-zoned, go through special use review, and get variances. Builders have zero financial incentive to
build duplexes. The market might want
duplexes, but the current and proposed zoning in reality prohibits them.
Yet as Matt writes, “duplexes are an
incremental step towards meeting the demand for housing within our
transit-friendly neighborhoods. If zoning allows construction of them by
right, they are as easy to build and finance as a single family home. Duplexes can even provide opportunity and incentive
for owner-occupancy, empowering more folks to invest and live in the
neighborhoods they love.”
We have lots of multifamily units at
various scales within most of our bus-friendly neighborhoods. Rather
than returning our central-city neighborhoods into unchanging suburbs, lets
grow a dynamic city. Zoning can ensure
that our housing evolves gradually over time, ensuring that housing meets the needs
of those living in a changing city.
Our present zoning and lot size
requirements, not market trends, have caused the lack of new duplex
construction/conversion. Let’s give back
the right to build duplexes and other small multifamily housing by reducing lot
size requirements and by zoning RN4 along bus lines. This will extend the many benefits of small
multifamily housing by right throughout the city within a short walking
distance of the KAT bus lines and open the benefits of affordable housing to
anyone and everyone. Let’s catch the RN4!
