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As one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, Westfield is no stranger to approving permits for new housing. In fact, Westfield Mayor Scott Willis says the city has granted more housing permits in the past five years than any county in Indiana.
But Willis and other mayors are pushing back on a Republican-priority bill to streamline the permitting process for new housing units, saying it takes power away from local governments.
House Bill 1001 would allow single-family houses and townhomes to be built in areas that are zoned residential to move forward without a hearing. Accessory dwelling units would also be automatically approved, while rules about design standards and mandatory parking spaces would be taken out of local hands unless municipalities specifically opt out.
“HB 1001 would wipe away most of the work that has been done to ensure we have balanced and sustainable growth moving forward and instead puts decision-making in the hands of national-level builders who are more focused on their bottom line than the community that they build in,” Willis said.
But home builder and Realtor associations who support the bill say Indiana faces a severe housing shortage that requires new approaches to bring prices down.
“As we look at how do we bring more product to the market at a price that Hoosiers can afford, we have to look at everything under the sun, and that includes the planning and zoning process,” said Rick Wajda, CEO of the Indiana Builders Association.
The bill passed out of the Committee on Local Government 7-3 Tuesday and heads to the House floor.
Streamlined process
The bill—authored by Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart—specifies that certain building projects would be deemed permitted uses without a hearing by a local zoning board or planning commission. Those include:
- At least two single-family homes or at least three duplexes per residential lot;
- Accessory dwelling units, often called cottage houses or in-law suites, on residential lots so long as they are less than 75% the size of the main house or less than 1,000 square feet.
Mixed-use and multifamily projects would also be permitted in commercial zones, unless a local government passes an ordinance specifically saying otherwise.
The bill allows opt-out provisions for other regulations like designated parking spaces, design standards and density requirements, meaning those decisions wouldn’t be left up to local officials unless municipalities specifically opt out.
The bill also caps construction fees and allows developers to build affordable housing on land owned by religious institutions so long as the institution maintains ownership of the property.
Building groups say the bill will cut down on the time it takes to build new housing by cutting red tape.
“Time is money in the construction world,” said Wajda. “We’re not alone in looking at how you provide some regulatory certainty so that we can shorten that timeframe and hopefully bring product to the market.”
Wajda pointed to data from the National Association of Home Builders that says 25% of the cost for a single-family home comes from government regulations and permitting. For an apartment building, it can be as much as 40%.
Indiana Association of Realtors CEO Mark Fisher said the language regarding accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, is especially important because it addresses Indiana’s most glaring housing needs.
“The most acute shortage in price point we have across the state is that sub-$250,000 mark,” Fisher said. “It’s the starter home, it’s the workforce housing. ADUs can only add to those options.”
Local control
Though they said they want the same end goal of more housing that’s affordable, representatives from local governments say HB 1001 takes too much decision-making power out of local hands.
Willis laid out what many cities weigh when approving housing, saying that if new homes are below a certain price point—about $395,000 in Westfield—they become a drain on the city because the property taxes don’t pay for the added utility and public safety services.
“While builders focus on delivering housing that meets market demands, they may not have the same insights that local governments do,” Willis said.
Becca McCuaig, lead counsel for Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, added that the bill’s language takes away local governments’ ability to require developers to conduct a traffic study when proposing a project. She said things like traffic and infrastructure studies may seem like extra hoops to developers, but they address safety and quality-of-life concerns.
“We’re not trying to say we don’t want to be collaborative in areas where we could potentially improve,” McCuaig said, adding her organization is willing supports speeding up timelines for permitting approvals so developers can get multiple permits processed on the same day.
Local advocates also dislike language in the bill involving impact fees—which municipalities assess to help pay for parks or infrastructure. The bill requires those fees be spent on projects within one mile of the new home.
“We’re not putting parks within a mile radius of every residential development we do,” Willis said. “We build up those funds through new development and through that, we’ll buy land for future parks to accommodate that growth that’s happening.”
Miller, the bill’s author, noted local governments can opt out to retain control over certain parts of the process. That’s by design, he said, to increase transparency.
The bill passed through committee along party lines, though Indianapolis Democrats Rep. Blake Johnson and Rep. Justin Moed, said they likely would vote in favor in a full House vote.
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