This bill directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, through the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, to publish guidelines and best practices for State and local zoning frameworks. The Assistant Secretary must publish the final guidelines within 3 years and run a 2-year public comment period that includes a draft in the Federal Register. The bill requires creation of a task force to help draft the guidelines. The guidelines must address many zoning and housing topics, such as parking minimums, building heights and floor area, minimum lot sizes, accessory dwelling units, allowing duplexes/triplexes/quadplexes by right, transit-oriented development, review processes for by-right proposals, manufactured and modular housing, impact fees, building codes, community benefit agreements, ways to preserve affordability and limit displacement, and model State zoning and appeals processes. The Assistant Secretary must report to Congress 5 years after publishing the guidelines on which States and localities adopted recommendations, the changes made, and effects on building permits. The bill abolishes the Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse and repeals the underlying statute. It authorizes $3,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out the Act.
The bill authorizes $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out this Act. No publicly available information on other costs, savings, or fiscal impacts is provided in the bill text.
According to the bill's findings, supporters say there is a national housing shortage and that State and local zoning and land-use rules can limit housing production. They view federal guidance, data, and models as useful tools for States and localities that want to reform zoning to increase housing supply and expand opportunities across income levels. The bill frames certain zoning restrictions that limit housing access by income as contrary to regional and national interests.
No publicly available information.