This spring, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut red tape and simplify zoning restrictions when it comes to home building. If you’ve been in the market for a new place to live these last few years, you’re probably just as thankful as I am.
Housing costs are through the roof. Paying the mortgage is harder than it’s ever been and we’re pricing Michigan’s youngest adults and recent college graduates right out of the housing market.
Why?
It all starts with supply and demand. There is not enough housing in the United States, and there are not enough homes in Michigan. In fact, a report published just a few days ago says the nation is facing a housing shortage of about 10 million homes.
Housing shortages drive up prices as buyers compete for limited options. They force families to move further and further away from good jobs and schools, and they’re pricing young families out of the state.
We’ve got a lot of building to do to correct this situation, so what’s stopping us from doing it in Michigan?
One answer to that question is simple — our state’s overregulation, red tape and zoning laws get in the way of housing construction and hinder development.
For too long, bureaucracy and central planning have artificially limited Michigan’s housing supply. Instead of letting home builders respond to market demands and create home options that families want, the government is using outdated zoning laws to mandate who can build what, and where.
We’ve seen bans on duplexes and backyard cottages, limits on home expansions and starter homes. Bans, bans, bans. Bans don’t just limit options and price young Michiganians out of home ownership; they strip individual property owners of their rights, too. When politicians and government bureaucrats interfere with the fundamental rights of property owners, it limits our freedoms and it drives up our prices.
There is a growing national movement to slash red tape and simplify the homebuilding process. I’m grateful for that, but solutions need to be embraced at the state level. If we act quickly, we can become a national leader and turn the housing crisis into a competitive advantage by becoming a state that embraces new home building. Michigan lawmakers across the political spectrum agree, and we’ve seen a slate of bills introduced to cut the bureaucracy and red tape that’s getting in the way of homebuilding.
These bills will make a huge difference by defending individual property rights while making our housing market more responsive to the laws of supply and demand. They cut red tape and ease onerous zoning regulations.
The bills restore homeowners’ and builders’ freedom to choose modest home options. This includes re-legalizing banned duplexes and “accessory dwelling units,” also known as backyard cottages, while allowing builders to create homes on smaller lot sizes for people that don’t need a big space — such as an elderly couple downsizing because they don’t want a big yard to maintain.
Cutting red tape promotes predictability, reduces delays and lowers costs for builders and buyers. Uncertainty kills business opportunity, and our small business owners can’t afford to jump through arbitrary hoops just to build a modest house.
Fewer obstacles to building will also make it easier for smaller builders to operate. Too many of these builders, the very people who built many of our parents’ or grandparents’ homes, have been pushed out of business by a climate that favors large construction firms with entire compliance divisions made necessary to keep up with the growth of the regulatory state.
These bills would even help protect farmland by encouraging property owners to build new housing without forcing them into the country and onto tracts of land we rely on to feed the state.
These are good government solutions that reduce government-created barriers to home building. They’ll deliver greater housing affordability through greater individual freedom.
Michigan families deserve a fair shot at owning their own homes and realizing the American Dream. Let’s get the government out of the way and build Michigan again.
Jonathan Lindsey, R-Coldwater, represents Michigan’s 17th Senate District.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Cutting red tape can solve Michigan’s housing shortage | Opinion
Reporting by Jonathan Lindsey / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jonathan Lindsey | USA TODAY Network
