Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee and Housing Secretary Deborah Goddard unveiled Wednesday a plan to build 15,000 new housing units over the next five years through what Goddard called a “carrot” approach.
“We’re going to set municipal goals for every community, both production goals and low-mod housing — low- and moderate-income housing goals — and we’re going to reward progress,” Goddard said during a Statehouse news conference. “If you’re taking actions to open your community up for development in a way that will get you to your goals, maybe you get some preference in some discretionary funding you want.”
The plan assigns communities one of three growth categories based on what it calls their potential for new housing growth.
“Continued growth communities” are expected to increase housing permits by 0.4% of their existing housing stock each year. The comparable figures are 0.6% for “job rich communities” and 0.8% for “strategic growth communities.”
During his turn at the podium, state Sen. Jake Bissaillon (D-Providence), chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing and Municipal Government, noted how some neighborhoods, cities and towns respond to efforts to build more housing by citing concerns about maintaining community character.
Asked about that, Goddard told reporters she believes the new state plan will be enough to overcome local resistance while chipping away at Rhode Island’s housing crisis.
The carrot approach “is where we’re going to start,” she said. “We’re going to start with encouragement. We’re going to start with the very pesky voice of the secretary of housing in their ear a lot. I’m going to have the governor in my ear on that matter. But we can evaluate that.”
Housing starts fell off a cliff in Rhode Island in the late 1980s, contributing to a housing crisis marked by a disparity between costs and what most people can afford. The median price of a home in the state is now close to $500,000.
McKee and Goddard said the crisis is a driving factor in increased homelessness. They said high housing prices make it difficult for employers to retain and attract workers, render the state unaffordable for longtime residents, and cause owners to struggle while trying to downsize.
The goals of the Housing 2030 plan include:
***Slow housing cost growth and put Rhode Island on a path to healthier vacancy rates;
***Increase inventory of homes for sale at less than $400,000;
***Expand lower-cost options that more families, seniors, and workers can afford.
Beyond setting municipal production goals and rewarding progress, the plan calls for addressing zoning and regulatory barriers; making strategic investments and using partnerships to support the growth of more housing.
A plan released by the Rhode Island Foundation in 2023 called for creating 24,000 units of housing to close the gap of what is needed.
Goddard and McKee said the 2030 plan — the first state housing plan in almost 20 years — covers a shorter span of time.
Efforts to revamp zoning have made for tensions between the state and some communities.
The zoning reforms called for in the 2030 plan include allowing by-right development of accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, and duplexes in zones with residential uses. It also calls for by-right development of three- and four–plexes in at least one additional residential zone.
Other elements of the zoning strategy include offering technical assistance to help communities adjust zoning; reduce barriers in building codes and permits, and considering changing tax-levies to favor year-round homes over short-term rentals.
McKee said he has reached out to municipal leaders and introduced Goddard to them while encouraging the growth of more housing.
Goddard said she has not been able to meet with local officials in Johnston, where the town faces a lawsuit over plans to site a public safety center on what had been intended as an affordable apartment development.
McKee said he nonetheless believes most cities and towns support creating more housing.
“My belief is that there’s a great deal of interest in addressing this issue and I believe the municipal leadership understands that is a value to their community — to address it,” he said.
