Better Cities Project
  • Home
  • About Us
    Our Vision
    BCP’s vision is that free-market municipal policy solutions are broadly available, widely acceptable, and regularly employed, enabling American cities to achieve their full potential as engines of economic prosperity. We reject the idea that cities are lost to free-market principles or policies.
    Our Mission
    BCP uncovers ideas that work, promotes realistic solutions, and forges partnerships that help people in America’s largest cities live free and happy lives.
    Learn More
    • About Better Cities Project
    • Our Focus Areas
    • Our Team
    • Collaboration and Careers -- Work With BCP
  • Research and Projects
  • Latest Insights
  • Videos
  • Contact
    Our Vision

    Address

    304 S. Jones Blvd #2826
    Las Vegas NV 89107

    Phone

    ‪(702) 546-8736‬

    Hours

    Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

    Email

    info@better-cities.org

    Email Us

    No Result
    View All Result
    Better Cities Project
    • Home
    • About Us
      Our Vision
      BCP’s vision is that free-market municipal policy solutions are broadly available, widely acceptable, and regularly employed, enabling American cities to achieve their full potential as engines of economic prosperity. We reject the idea that cities are lost to free-market principles or policies.
      Our Mission
      BCP uncovers ideas that work, promotes realistic solutions, and forges partnerships that help people in America’s largest cities live free and happy lives.
      Learn More
      • About Better Cities Project
      • Our Focus Areas
      • Our Team
      • Collaboration and Careers -- Work With BCP
    • Research and Projects
    • Latest Insights
    • Videos
    • Contact
      Our Vision

      Address

      304 S. Jones Blvd #2826
      Las Vegas NV 89107

      Phone

      ‪(702) 546-8736‬

      Hours

      Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

      Email

      info@better-cities.org

      Email Us

      No Result
      View All Result
      Better Cities Project
      No Result
      View All Result
      Home Community, Growth and Housing

      Montana successfully reformed its housing policy

      But cities don't need to wait for state legislatures to act.

      Patrick TuoheybyPatrick Tuohey
      November 9, 2023
      in Community, Growth and Housing, Economic Prosperity
      Reading Time: 2 mins read
      A A
      Montana successfully reformed its housing policy
      Share on FacebookShare on TwitterLinkedInEmail

      The Atlantic recently published a great piece entitled, “The Anti-California, How Montana performed a housing miracle.” The author details all the problems Montana was having with housing affordability, resulting from strict and costly regulations and existing homeowners who rise up to oppose any new development. This will be familair to anyone who has worked on municipal housing issues. The “miracle’ the title alludes to is how swiftly the state legislature acted to overcome those hurdles.

      Faced with high housing costs due to restricted supply and the NIMBY opposition that popped this up, the article focused on how state leaders acted.

      Last July, [Governor] Gianforte created a housing task force, bringing together homebuilders, politicians, experts, and advocates, including Dugan, who had gone on to found a housing nonprofit called Shelter WF. In October, the group delivered a series of proposals to state officials; in December, to local officials. Montana’s legislature debated a set of bills based on those recommendations. Then it passed them this spring. The state transformed its land-use policies. It set itself up for dense development. It did this on a bipartisan basis and at warp speed.

      RelatedInsights

      San Jose and the reemergence of the donut city

      Zoning’s arbitrary lines

      A path forward for downtown development

      The case against parking maximums

      The article then gives a history of recent population growth in Montana and the obstacles that stymied construction to meet demand. The legislature then acted to allow people to build housing by right instead of enduring time consuming and therefore expensive processes, allow infill development in already dense areas, and limit the ability of municipalities to gum up the works with their own zoning policies. The author observes, “Montana now arguably has the most pro-development, pro-housing set of policies of any state.”

      What spurred policymakers to act so quickly, according to the story, was fear of becoming California with its high housing costs, sprawl-inducing zoning regulations and the knock-on effects.  The piece quotes Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist at Redfin Corporation, a Seattle-based provider of residential real estate brokerage and mortgage origination services with observing, “If you have single-family zoning and bury your head, you will eventually face San Francisco’s problems. It’s not just the high cost of housing. It’s a high cost of living, wealth inequality, homelessness, and crime.”

      While Montana’s success is impressive, local leaders do not need to wait on state leaders to solve their problems for them–and risk pre-emption laws that may hamper their ability to meet important community standards. Better Cities has published several reports on how to reform housing policy. Among them are:

      • The Housing and Zoning section of our post-pandemic Getting Back To Work published in 2020;
      • Zoning and Permitting reforms that unlocked a development boom in New Rochelle, New York published in 2021; and
      • Incremental Zoning reforms adopted in Auburn, Maine to address a housing scarcity published in 2022.

      BCP is here to help local leaders identify and address their own housing issues in a way that preserves local authority. While legislative action in Montana and elsewhere is welcome, local leaders need not forfeit their ability to find their own way.

       

       

      Tags: Housing AffordabilityReal EstateReformRegulationZoning
      Previous Post

      San Jose and the reemergence of the donut city

      Patrick Tuohey

      Patrick Tuohey

      Patrick Tuohey is co-founder and policy director of the Better Cities Project. He works with taxpayers, media, and policymakers to foster understanding of the consequences — sometimes unintended — of policies such as economic development, taxation, education, and transportation. He also serves as a visiting fellow at the Virginia-based Yorktown Foundation for Public Policy.

      Explore More

      • Economic Prosperity
      • Criminal Justice and Public Safety
      • Transportation and Infrastructure
      • Education
      • Energy and Environment
      • Community, Growth and Housing
      • Clean, Open and Fair Government

      Recent News

      Montana successfully reformed its housing policy

      Montana successfully reformed its housing policy

      November 9, 2023
      Downtown San Jose, California

      San Jose and the reemergence of the donut city

      November 9, 2023
      Zoning’s arbitrary lines

      Zoning’s arbitrary lines

      November 1, 2023
      New Rochelle

      A path forward for downtown development

      October 24, 2023
      Load More
      Facebook Twitter RSS
      Better Cities Project

      Better Cities Project helps people in America’s largest cities live free, happy lives. We uncover what works, promote solutions, and forge partnerships that turn ideas into results.



      © 2023 Better Cities Project

      Thanks to QuestionPro for providing us over 35 question types to choose from. The advanced question types help up collect deep insights.

      Our Focus Areas

      • Economic Prosperity
      • Criminal Justice and Public Safety
      • Transportation and Infrastructure
      • Education
      • Energy and Environment
      • Community, Growth and Housing
      • Clean, Open and Fair Government

      The Fine Print

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms and Conditions
      • Reports and Financials

      Recent News

      Montana successfully reformed its housing policy

      Montana successfully reformed its housing policy

      November 9, 2023
      Downtown San Jose, California

      San Jose and the reemergence of the donut city

      November 9, 2023
      Zoning’s arbitrary lines

      Zoning’s arbitrary lines

      November 1, 2023
      No Result
      View All Result
      • About Us
      • The Team
      • Work With Better Cities Project
      • Research and Projects
      • Latest Insights
      • Videos

      © 2023 Better Cities Project

      Welcome Back!

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password?

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In

      Add New Playlist

      Love Cities? So Do We.

      Get ahead of the curve -- learn about innovations, ideas and policies driving change in America's largest cities, with BCP in your inbox.



      You have Successfully Subscribed!