Is Governor McKee's Housing 2030 plan enough to make a serious dent in the housing crisis?
“This plan addresses those concerns by targeting the systemic barriers to housing production and focusing on actionable solutions," said Secretary Goddard.
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee and Secretary of Housing Deborah Goddard released the State Housing Plan (Housing 2030), a strategic housing plan that aims to permit 15,000 new housing units by 2030. Aside from setting goals with actual numbers, the report contains nothing unexpected or revolutionary.
You can watch the press conference here:
“Our Housing Secretary Deborah Goddard and her team have created created a powerful document that makes the case for why we need to act now, what barriers we need to overcome, how the state needs to collaborate with cities and towns to get the job done, and how everyone needs to be part of the solution,” said Governor McKee at a State House press conference conference adding, “Our cities and towns play a significant role in this plan and we will gain a great deal of progress as we give municipal leadership more and more information about what we’re looking to do - and we’re committed to do exactly that.
“By prioritizing the creation of housing at every level, this plan will help us build stronger, more resilient communities, stimulate our economy, and ensure that housing is no longer a barrier to opportunity for Rhode Islanders.”
“We’ve heard from communities across Rhode Island about the critical need for more housing options,” said Secretary of Housing Deborah Goddard. “This plan addresses those concerns by targeting the systemic barriers to housing production and focusing on actionable solutions. With strong collaboration across municipal, state, and private partners, we can create housing that meets the needs of Rhode Islanders across income levels and housing types.
“Housing 2030’s vision is very straightforward: produce and preserve housing that responds to the needs of all Rhode Islanders, regardless of where they live, what their income is, and what other obstacles they are facing, to create strong communities with a diversity of housing options that are affordable and accessible,” continued Secretary Goddard. “Our goal is 15,000 units by 2030. This is not quite doubling what we’ve done in the five years from 2019 to 2023. It’s a stretch, but we feel it’s doable given our trajectory.”
Obstacles to achieving Secretary Goddard’s plan include local zoning issues and rising building costs. To combat this, she listed five strategies:
Set municipal construction goals and reward strategies
“We’re going to set municipal goals for every community, both production and low- and moderate-income housing goals,” said Secretary Goddard. “And we’re going to reward progress if you’re taking the actions to open your community up for development in a way that will get you to your goals - maybe a preference in some discretionary funding you want.”
Later, Secretary Goddard added, “If it’s funding that communities want, it’s not just housing funding you get a preference for. I think that is a nicely cloaked hammer.”
Address zoning and regulatory barriers
“This has to happen at the local level for the most part,” said Secretary Goddard. “We want to be working with our communities in terms of technical assistance and visualization to help communities understand what the zoning changes would allow - and what they won’t allow - in terms of their fear of what housing and affordable housing can bring to their community.”
Make strategic investments
“We want to work in collaboration with Rhode Island Housing to use that $120 million in bond money that the voters of Rhode Island gave us,” said Secretary Goddard.
Build and sustain key partnerships
“We know we can’t do this alone,” said Secretary Goddard. “We need collaboration with our municipalities and development community, for-profit and nonprofit housing providers, and other state agencies.”
Support home ownership and housing stability
“[We want to do this] across that spectrum,” said Secretary Goddard.
The goal of 1500 new housing permits is not arbitrary but based on many factors, said Secretary Goddard. “How much housing are we losing? Population growth. I think the exact formula is somewhere around 13,000. But we wanted to bring down the price a little bit more, so it’s a bit of a cushion and pushing us to get to a better vacancy rate.”
In his press release, Governor McKee says that his “comprehensive and actionable document aims to address Rhode Island’s housing challenges by setting ambitious goals for the production and preservation of housing at every level,” but are the goals all that ambitious?
In January, RIPEC [Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council] projected “that the $100 million slated for production from the $120 million housing bond would produce 586 new affordable and middle-income housing units. The total units produced from SFRF production programs, and the proposed bond together would increase the state’s affordable housing stock by an estimated 2,170 units, an increase of 5.7%.” If RIPEC got the numbers right, the goal of 1500 units could be reached easily with the hundreds of millions of dollars the state has committed to housing. However, to make a real dent in the housing shortage, RIPEC suggest that “the state should develop innovative programs to tackle its housing shortage.”
Housing 2030 does not offer much innovation.
Statement from the Housing Network of Rhode Island on the Release of Governor McKee’s Housing 2030 Draft Plan
The Housing Network of Rhode Island congratulates Governor McKee and the Department of Housing on their release of the draft Housing 2030 Plan, a first for the State in nearly two decades. We applaud their recognition that addressing the state’s ongoing housing crisis requires a bold, coordinated and longer-term strategy and the establishment of clearly defined and measurable goals to evaluate progress.
The Governor’s announcement today is an important step toward tackling our shared vision for increasing the supply of affordable, accessible and diverse housing options across all communities in Rhode Island. While the commitment to permitting 15,000 new homes by 2030 is ambitious, it is also necessary to appropriately respond to our State’s housing crisis. We look forward to reviewing and better understanding the full scope of strategies outlined within the Plan to achieve this goal.
As the statewide association of nonprofit community housing developers, the Housing Network represents many of the partners who will be instrumental in making this vision a reality. Our members have long been on the front lines of housing development, preservation, and service provision—and know firsthand what’s needed to ensure this plan delivers real, tangible results for Rhode Islanders.
Execution of this Plan will require support and participation across a multitude of key stakeholders—ranging from everyday Rhode Islanders to industry leaders, municipal partners to elected officials—and we urge every Rhode Islander to participate in shaping a final housing strategy that reflects the diverse voices and needs of our residents Together, we have the opportunity to build a Rhode Island that is inclusive, resilient, and affordable.
I am trying not to be negative, but not sure there is a real plan here, at least not an action plan. It is disappointing at best, and definitely not a "powerful document ".