Commentary
A recent New York Times opinion piece titled, “The Era of Shutting Others Out of New York’s Suburbs Is Ending,” discussed a growing trend among state legislatures, particularly in “blue” states, to force changes in local zoning laws in the suburbs to allow more multifamily housing. Traditionally, suburbs are zoned mostly for single-family homes. A sponsor of such a law in the New York state senate was quoted saying, “We need to end the policy of exclusionary zoning that disadvantages lower- and middle-income New Yorkers.”
The zoning changes to combat what the Biden administration calls “exclusionary zoning” are high on President Joe Biden’s governing agenda, and he included it in his original $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill. A White House fact sheet stated:…