The Benefits of “Light Touch” Density
Restrictive zoning laws that ban duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and other so-called “missing middle” homes have severely impacted the underproduction of homes in America, according to Edward J. Pinto, director of American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center and Mike Kingsella, the executive director of Up for Growth. To explore the impact of restrictive zoning on the housing supply and cost of homes, the AEI conducted a case study of towns in Bergen County, New Jersey with varying levels of restrictive zoning. One of the towns in the analysis with relatively open zoning laws saw an increase in its housing supply by 30 percent from 2000 to 2010 and increased population growth. In contrast, towns with more restrictive zoning regulations saw flatter population growth and higher property taxes. Pinto and Kingsella suggest that light touch density spreads the increasing cost of land across more units, creating new middle housing that provides more people with access to quality jobs, education, and other resources. Pinto and Kingsella also posit that revising strict zoning laws via light touch density helps to combat the racial inequities that persist in the housing market.