In the first post from this series, we examined the definition of Missing Middle Housing and the reasons why its absence is a problem for Southern cities. Last month, part of the Lenexa Planning Commissions conversation hinted at some of the strife other Johnson County communities have run into, most notably Prairie Village, when the topic of expanding the types of housing options comes up. . But land and construction costs are too high, while the number of units and the allowed size of a building are too small, writes @jwsthomson. Read our privacy policyfor more on how we handle your personal information. a major focus of the citys comprehensive plan update process. "Naish lives in a fourplex, or one unit in a group of four attached homes. Except as noted otherwise, all content is licensed under a, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Bateman, Macri, Das Propose Missing Middle Housing Bill Tackling Exclusionary Zoning Statewide, As Sound Transit Weighs Future of Fare Ambassador Program, Data Shows History of Racial Disparities in Fare Enforcement, What to Know About Washington States Competing Missing Middle Housing Bills, Rainier Valley Greenways Final Segment Starts Construction After Years of Red Tape, Bellevue Councilmember Oversteps Authority to Block Additional Housing Capacity, The Urbanist Podcast: All About 2023 Primary Endorsements, Pierce Transits Plan for Pacific Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Project Collapses, Spokane Leads the Way with Parking Reform, Sound Transits Draft Service Plan for 2024 Charts Some Service Growth, Modern Digital Signage Coming to Community Transit Swift Buses. The city may also expand the commercial node concept, which identifies small sectors of land for low-impact retail and services in areas of residential growth. Just 2.2 percent of Arlingtons housing stock consists of duplexes, like this one in Waverly Hills. By adding options where they make the most sense, we can also protect our tree canopy, update infrastructure like sidewalks, bike lanes, and storm water management, and even create new green spaces. The 'Missing' Affordable Housing Solution And when we have more choices, we create living, thriving neighborhoods for people and businesses., Next up: The Market for Missing Middle Housing. Arlington County kicked off its Missing Middle Housing Study on October 28, 2020. In the second part, we examine a Missing Middle building that was constructed in 1930 and one reason it couldn't be built today. Idealized specifications take the best characteristics of this type and update them for todays typical building standards, serving as a model for new development. Since 1970, average sizes for new detached houses have soared by 64 percent. are working and living longer. Missing middle housing What is Missing Middle Housing? Missing Middle Housing - Mountain Housing Council Prioritizing "missing middle housing" could help, according to the city and housing experts. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014. They gave an overview of their research and took questions from the community. Affluent seniors seek to downsize from their large suburban homes to more convenient, easy-to-care-for townhouses, apartments, or condos, while others need quality, affordable housing that wont break their limited budget. Details here. cottage court), or simply from being located within a vibrant neighborhood with places to eat, drink, and socialize. However, in many areas of the country, building this type of unit isn't allowed. Those tend to include townhomes, regular homes and other types of residential densities. Keegan McDonald
Process, Scope, & Timeline Also, Lenexa has generally been pretty open to mixed-use developments projects that put housing, commercial and other types of zoning in close proximity to each other and more diverse residential development projects, McCullough said. November 29, 2021, 9:00 AM PST By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction sevenMaps7 / Shutterstock According to an article by Ally Schweitzer, Virginia's Arlington County is entering the second phase of a comprehensive study to evaluate how the county can encourage construction of "missing middle housing" to ease pressures on the local housing market. While there, I worked for the K-State Collegian, serving as the editor-in-chief. SDOT Director Greg Spotts was our guest on February 15. Parolek defined missing middle housing as "a range of house-scale buildings with multiple unitscompatible in scale and form with detached single-family homes located in a walkable neighborhood." Missing Middle housing helps to create a shared sense of community, as seen in the example below from Conover Commons, Redmond, WA. Your communitys preliminary inventory of missing middle housing types can be indexed and shared as reference for which missing middle housing designs historically look like in your community. Prior to the summer of 2021, these housing types were prohibited in many of Raleighs neighborhoods. When Missing Middle Housing is thoughtfully integrated (right), it increases the population density to the threshold required to support neighborhood commercial amenities and transit. Both bills will be heard in committee today at 10:00am. The missing middle also refers to the lack of available and . Using satellite imagery, begin analyzing the surrounding neighborhoods for signs of the missing middle. Things to look for include: Buildings that are larger than neighboring residences, As you identify potential missing middle housing, zoom in closer and use a tool like, Satellite and street level images may be several years old. It is a range of house-scale building types that exist in cities and towns across the country and were a fundamental part of pre-1940s neighborhoods. This type has the appearance of a medium-to-large single-unit house and does not include a rear yard. It provides multiple definition options for technical terms such as middle housing, subject jurisdiction, or transit-rich areas, allowing lawmakers to choose what works for their state and communities. Heather Hood, Deputy Director, Northern California, Enterprise Community Partners, an attractive and affordable alternative starter home. Missing Middle Housing respects the GDPR and will never share your information without consent. They are willing to exchange space for shorter commutes, mixed-use neighborhoods, and shared open spaces that foster community interaction. Characteristics Missing Middle Housing Missing middle housing can be mixed-in with single-family housing forms, or higher density non-residential areas, to create a diversity of housing choices for residents. Youll also find information on how to integrate Missing Middle Housing into existing neighborhoods, how to enable these building types, and pin-point the market demographic that demands them. An official website of the Chester County Government. Read our privacy policyfor more on how we handle your personal information. The second definition of middle relates to the affordability or attainability level.. At the same time, baby boomers are working and living longer. I also contributed to the KLC Journal and the Kansas Reflector. This is where Missing Middle Housing can change the conversation.. We call them Missing because they have typically been illegal to build since the mid-1940s and Middle because they sit in the middle of a spectrum between detached single-family homes and mid-rise to high-rise apartment buildings, in terms of form and scale, as well as number of units and often, affordability. Post Publishing Inc 2010-2023 Only 3.7 percent is townhomes and a mere 2.2 percent are either side-by-side or stacked duplexes and these are only allowed in a small number of areas within the County. Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. Quentin Tyler, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824. What is the Missing Middle? Missing middle housing - Local Housing Solutions Some areas may be most appropriate for duplexes, while other areas could accommodate small multiplexes. The draft is still being developed at this time. The areas that did allow for duplexes and other small multi-unit buildings also allowed for higher density multifamily buildings, and it was the latter that became more common over time. James Tischler, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Car-Free in America? Allowing more of this type of housing will help support the Main Street style retail that we love like the kind we see in Westover or Del Ray in Alexandria. Email Keegan
Photo by Opticos Design. Description A detached (2 to 2.5-story) structure that consists of 5 to 12 dwelling units arranged side-by-side and/or stacked, typically with a shared entry from the street. While Knoxville's population increased 6.6% from 2010 to 2020, . Signing in closes one hour before the hearings, but written testimony can be submitted up to 24 hours after the hearing start time. The present economic research finds that business wants talent, but talent wants placeso more businesses are relocating to places. Michigan, like many places across the country, is facing housing challenges. . Those types of projects already do or could potentially fit in with the drive to add missing middle housing options. These building types must be appropriately scaled, designed, and located to be considered missing middle housing. Missing middle development is a business that a mom-and-pop landlord can get a start in. Photo . These housing types typically have small- to medium-sized footprints, with a body width, depth and height no larger than a detached single-family home. Missing middle housing can provide additional units in a manner that fits existing communities' structure, known as "gentle density," while assisting in providing units for a wide variety of price points. Missing middle housing is a relatively new term, but these types of homes may already exist in your community if you know what to look for! HOUSING | Maximum Density Kills the Missing Middle This aspect can also increase affordability when units are sold or rented. What is Missing Middle Housing? Lenexa is different from some of the cities that have had more heated exchanges on the topic, McCullough said. Missing Middle Housing is also one of the tools we need to help meet the overall demand for housing in our area, which impacts affordability across the board. Missing middle housing is a term which describes a range of multi-family or clustered housing types that are compatible in scale with single-family or transitional neighborhoods. #bcpoli #yyj" Debra Bassert, National Association of Home Builders, Lynn Richards, President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism. This exception has been automatically logged and reported. In December, Futurewise was our guest for a state legislative preview. The word "Middle" is used as the housing exists on a spectrum between single family detached units and mid and high-rise apartment buildings. Less parking means more households on the same amount of land, increasing the viability of transit and local businesses. Source: The Cottage Company. Update the citys land-use map to reflect residential areas with more medium-level density, measured by the number of dwelling units per acre. Because they are built in walkable neighborhoods with proximity to transportation options and commercial amenities, Missing Middle housing types do not need the same amount of parking as suburban housing. The UDO contains all the development and zoning rules for the city. Lenexas comprehensive plan also has areas identified for commercial, business and industrial developments, and McCullough said the revisions are likely to touch those areas too. The additional density provided by Missing Middle Housing will allow local businesses to thrive. After that, the planning commission and city council will both have to consider it before the updated comprehensive plan becomes active. Building types like duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, and cottage courtyards fall into that middle area; their scale and form are similar to single-family homes but include multiple units. Since Missing Middle types work well for both for-sale and rental housing, this further increases their appeal as more and more people nowadays are choosing to rent for longer or even permanently, over home ownership. This includes duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and small apartments. They want to stay mobile and active in their later years, but they wont drive forever and dont want to be dependent on their family members to get around. Missing Middle Housing Study Why is it missing? Missing Middle Housing | City of Redwood City Lenexa is hoping to add more midrange housing options including potentially townhomes and affordable starter homes to areas of the city still open for development. Were not going to be able to sidestep this, Vice Chair Mike Burson said. 2016 Leckey Forum: Finding the Missing Middle. The Alliance for Housing Solutions advocates adding to our housing options, not taking them away. This includes duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and small apartments. These housing types which range in style from small multiunit apartment buildings to . This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Planning for Attractive Homes Missing Middle Housing. Text changes (TC) are amendments to Raleighs Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). But those types of projects arent getting built to that scale anymore.