New Housing Bill to be Unveiled This Weekend

This weekend, a significant housing bill, the 21st Century Housing Act, is set to be announced. It’s being described as the most ambitious federal housing legislation in years. The general consensus is that soaring housing prices in many areas stem from a lack of new construction. However, initial reactions indicate this bill may not address the root of the issue effectively.

The legislation appears to overlook a variety of federal, and state, environmental regulations that make it quite challenging to develop sizable new suburban projects in regions where new housing is critically needed. Historically, during previous population booms, developers responded by creating suburbs. For instance, Levittown, established in 1947, featured 17,000 homes and sparked further suburban expansions in places like Phoenix and Las Vegas, often keeping real estate prices steady through ongoing construction.

Today, however, most cities deemed “unaffordable” have seen this kind of development stall. It’s not for lack of land; plenty of area remains available close to congested urban centers. Instead, a series of environmental policies enacted between 1969 and 1980 now restrict new greenfield developments.

The passage of laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act effectively reshaped how housing policy functions, limiting options that once facilitated more flexible housing development.

Take, for instance, Newhall Ranch—a proposed community of over 21,000 homes in northwest Los Angeles. Its journey began with an environmental impact report in 1995 but didn’t see approval until 2003. After a lengthy legal battle concerning greenhouse gases, the initial two villages received re-approval in 2017, two decades following their first submission. Similarly, the Tejon Ranch project has also faced persistent legal struggles since its approval.

Even minor projects seem trapped in legal limbo. A vacant lot in Tiburon, California, aimed for a development of 300 homes, has been tangled in litigation since the mid-70s, with no major progress to report even decades later. A similar situation at Juanita Ranch near San Diego involves thousands of homes that have remained in legal disputes for years, complicating any resolution.

These cases often get lost in the ongoing YIMBY-NIMBY debates, where the focus tends to steer away from the fundamental issues at play. Many advocates aren’t necessarily calling for changes in their neighborhoods but seek to build homes on vacant land that is bogged down by complex environmental regulations.

Prohibition on expansion forces demand into existing areas, leading to tensions between those advocating for increased density and those wanting to preserve the status quo of their neighborhoods. If new suburbs could be developed as they were pre-1980s, it might alleviate some pressure from current housing markets, subsequently reducing prices and tensions between different community interests.

Addressing this situation requires substantial reform at both state and federal levels, particularly in relation to the environmental laws that currently govern land use in the country.