A recent national survey conducted by The Pew Charitable Trust found that a majority of Americans support a broad array of zoning policies intended to boost housing availability and affordability. Researchers asked participants about a range of zoning policy reforms, including expediting the permitting process, converting offices and similar buildings into housing, limiting parking space mandates, allowing accessory dwelling units, and decreasing mandatory lot sizes. The survey results indicate broad concern among Americans regarding housing supply and affordability.
The majority of survey respondents supported diverse policies for addressing housing supply. Nearly 90% of respondents supported the expediting of the permitting process, and 81% of respondents supported allowing offices, hotels, and other similar buildings to be converted to housing.
Respondents indicated that improving affordability and consumer choice were compelling reasons to change housing policies. More than 80% of respondents said that making housing more affordable was an excellent or good reason for changing housing rules. Nearly eight in 10 respondents (79%) indicated that allowing people to move closer to jobs and schools was an excellent or good reason for changing housing policy, and more than seven in 10 respondents (73%) felt that reducing homelessness was an excellent or good reason for changing housing rules.
Republicans and Democrats prioritized different reasons for creating more housing. Slightly more Republicans identified increasing freedom for property owners as an excellent or good reason to change housing policy (68% vs. 62%). Democrats were more likely to identify the reduction of racial segregation as an excellent or good reason to change housing policy (81% vs. 49%). Despite these differences, the survey data indicate that housing policies designed to end the housing shortage and affordability crisis are popular and have bipartisan support among Americans.
Read more about the survey and its findings at: http://tinyurl.com/4pptsucy