Local land use regulations are often held up as a barrier to housing and a reason for increased housing costs. As a blanket statement, this is not always applicable, since many municipalities have no local land use regulations at all and still struggle with affordable housing costs. However, in specific cases it is true, where land use regulation standards and processes create unnecessary costs and delays. Appeals under local regulations also create costs, but are largely out of the control of the municipality, unless that type of development gets exempted from permits entirely.
Where permitting is revised to create greater ease to build homes or convert existing homes, communities must guard against the displacement of lower-income residents.
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