Jesus cleared the temple of money. Maybe he would do the same with designers and zones.
When it comes to location I will state right what was my position for more than a decade: the zone is 20th A century solution to 19th Problem for a century, let’s finish it. Therefore, I support the efforts to give more relief from the zones to religious organizations trying to build housing. Yes, of course. But it only emphasizes the importance of widespread relief from zones for those trying to build housing whether it is spiritual reasons or to make money.
Gothamist recently published an article, Yes to God’s doorstep? Churches are pushing the laws on zones and building more housesunderlining a bill in the Senate of New York, Senate S33397a bill It was called a law on affordable housing based on faith. Some of the relief some zone are quite remarkable.
Local governments cannot impose:
- Off -road parking requirements
- Minimal, maximum or average size units
- Unit priority based on neighborhood residence or age group
- Minimum purchase prices for co-ops
- Local codes or fire codes beyond the state standard
- Density or Economic Affairs Requirements beyond what the bill defines
- Providing municipal services or utility access
- Any other requirement is considered to obstruct full accessible housing development
And there are significant exceptions from complete state environmental revisions are not required if the Church completes the basic environmental revisions on its own. And, above all, the bill states that “the building departments must be ministerial and without a discreet review or hearing, applications for building permits under the bill within sixty days of the application”.
This is huge. The requirement of ministerial approval means the abolition of appeals, councils and other ARGA bureaucratic, which adds exactly the cost and friction to the development process. And while the legislation has economic comprehension requirements, this is the whole thing behind a church that deals with such a project.
It is background that the government cannot interfere with religious practice. Trying to attach this practice to housing building is not completely new. Federal law prohibits the laws of land use from interference with religious practice. The law on religious use and institutionalized persons “Protects religious institutions from excessively ongoing or discreet land use regulations.” The act is housed in Title 42 of the Federal Codeand allows state and local governments to grant such exemptions.
But the real question is why not give these exceptions everyone. A commentator at Gothamist wrote: “It would be nice if organizations like the Lutherans would put energy on pressure to correct the laws on zones all together.
In general, I agree. I don’t think I would say the efforts of the churches as “gifting” anything special. But the conceptual framework of all the rules we have in the United States has made and published locally is wrong. It should be assumed that all the development of housing should happen with the right and with minimal interference with the planning codes, unless there is a very good reason to impose restrictions. Things such as fire and seismic safety are examples of these reasons. When an earthquake occurs, everyone expects their building to hold under the shake. But the color of the hardy panel and how tall the building is, not so much, especially from such things just add costs.
Delivering the exceptions of religious organizations to help people get affordable housing is not a bad idea, but expanding this feeling and intent throughout housing is not only necessary, it would also be enough to move the needle to create a series of housing solutions that will give them a range of housing solutions.
