New Haven housing experts say the city needs more than 8,000 affordable units by 2030.
The city’s housing authority, Elm City Communities, has released a new report with policy recommendations to make New Haven more affordable.
According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic stopped a growing affordable housing market.
Housing Authority President Karen DuBois-Walton said there are now 30,000 households on the waiting list for a Section 8 voucher.
“New Haven's housing crisis is severe,” DuBois-Walton said. “And New Haven's housing crisis is wide ranging. We heard very clearly the pain it causes is immediate and dire and it requires urgency of action. The scale of the crisis is enormous, and it requires action that's proportionate.”
To grow the city’s housing stock, the authority released eight policy recommendations:
- Eliminate parking requirements
- Shrink the minimum lot size
- Eliminate unit density restrictions
- Legalize Single-Room Occupancy units
- End owner-occupancy requirements for ADUs
- Upzone exclusionary neighborhoods
- Begin pre-approved plan development
- Switch to a land value tax
“None of these policies are a silver bullet, but in the aggregate they make new construction easier and they make it better fit the needs of New Haven residents,” study author Will Viederman said.
More than half of New Haven’s residents are cost burdened — meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on the cost of their home.
Low-income households could be priced out of the city if housing prices continue to increase without building more housing stock.
