New York and California are taking on the NIMBYs

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN

New York (CNN) — New York City voters are currently deciding on one of the most polarizing issues in decades. But it has nothing to do with 34-year-old democratic socialist mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.

Instead, it will determine who has the power to greenlight — or block— affordable housing development in the city.

Several proposals on the ballot could speed up affordable housing development and land use approvals in the city. The proposals have pitted the City Council against the mayor, and developers against unions. The fight is symbolic of a larger power struggle playing out in liberal cities and states like New York and California. Despite championing inclusion, these places are some of the most unaffordable in America and have policies that empower local voices to block affordable housing, often called NIMBYism “Not In My Backyard.”

“Everyone wants new housing, but no one wants it on their block,” said David Schleicher, a Yale University professor of property and urban law.

Power to block housing

One ballot proposal in New York City would speed up review for affordable housing developments in the neighborhoods that have built the fewest. Another would remove a local city council member’s ability to kill a housing project.

Supporters of these reforms say zoning laws have been hijacked by NIMBYs, and control should be shifted away from local leaders to cities and states. Local government is typically most responsive to vocal, well-funded homeowners who oppose affordable buildings on their blocks over fears their property values will decline or strain school systems.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and affordable housing advocates back the ballot measures. The proposals build on recent city zoning code changes to add more housing, such as making it easier to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) like garages and basement apartments or converting office buildings into apartments.

But City Council members say the proposals silence neighborhood voices, and labor unions say they weaken important checks on real estate developers.

The ballot measures come as New York City faces one of the worst housing affordability crises in its history. Median rents have hit nearly $5,000 a month in Manhattan, and vacancy rates have fallen to a record low of 1.4%.

A similar reckoning is playing out in California over policies that made it difficult to build housing, contributing to sky-high rents.

California rolled back its landmark environmental law earlier this year, which had given neighborhoods and groups a powerful tool to sue to stop housing development.

California also passed legislation this month permitting apartment buildings near major rail and bus stations around the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law over fierce pushback from some local governments.

“We’re going to have multi-story apartment towers in residential neighborhoods,” said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park. “This is an effort to Manhattan-ize Los Angeles.”

Sea change on zoning

California and New York City’s recent reforms would have once been unthinkable.

During the 1960s and 1970s, those states helped galvanize a movement to establish local control over development. It grew as a response to unchecked urban renewal programs that demolished historic neighborhoods, such as Robert Moses’ highway projects in New York City.

But local rules designed to preserve neighborhoods now stifle housing development, reformers say.

Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco build housing at some of the slowest rates of major cities in the country. Over the past decade, New York City added just 30.6 housing units per 1,000 residents — far fewer than Atlanta or Miami’s roughly 140 housing units — according to NYU’s Furman Center data.

Recent reforms have been propelled by activists who believe it’s hypocritical for liberal bastions to call for equality while blocking affordable housing.

“In jurisdictions that are going to block new housing, the whole game is to use the power of the state to take away their ability to say no,” said Matthew Lewis, the communications director for California YIMBY, a housing reform group. “You’ve got a new cohort of activists and generations who can’t own a home because cities have put up these barriers.”

No silver bullet

New York City and California are joining a wave of cities and states that are changing zoning laws to speed up development amid the nationwide housing shortage.

States governed by both Democrats and Republicans — including Florida, Montana and Washington — have enacted reforms like eliminating minimum lot sizes, permitting accessory dwelling units and limiting on-site parking spaces.

“Housing has turned out to be one of the least partisan issues state to state,” said Charles Gardner, a research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center who studies planning law and housing affordability.

But these changes are not an immediate solution. Rewriting zoning regulations likely won’t help low-and moderate-income residents afford housing for years. A 2023 Urban Institute study found that loosening zoning restrictions did not add lower-cost housing units for at least nine years.

Surging building costs also make it harder to offer affordable apartments. The cost of labor and materials in New York, which make up more than 60% of constructing a building, is among the highest in the United States.

“Awareness has come around on local regulation, but right now that’s not the biggest problem we’re facing,” said Lydia Lo, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute’s housing and communities division. “It can only do so much in an environment where costs are rising so quickly.”

Zoning reforms must be coupled with major subsidies to help people afford new housing, many researchers say. This would require huge investments that cities and states on tight budgets are likely unable to make.

“We’re not all ponies and rainbows because we did zoning reform,” said Lewis from California YIMBY. “But the ponies and rainbows are within sight.”

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