Thomas Scrimgeour: Maxim Institute Researcher discusses hyperlocal zoning

A new approach to land zoning could be the answer to the housing crisis. 

New Zealand’s housing crisis is locking families out of home ownership, but what would happen if local streets and neighbourhoods were the ones to decide what can be built and where?  

Hyperlocal zoning allows the community to vote on potential developments, balancing the preferences of locals with the need for more housing.  

The system has found success over in the States, with housing becoming more accessible and affordable in Houston, Texas.  

Maxim Institute Researcher Thomas Scrimgeour told Mike Hosking that it could either work as an opt-out system or an opt-in, but either way it would need the support of a majority of the community. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Got an idea around land zoning, So what would happen
of local streets and neighborhoods were given the choice of
what's allowed to be built and where? Texas does it? Houston?
Are their claiming success so much so that housing's becoming
more accessible and more affordable. How does this work? The
Maximum Institute researcher Thomas Scrimger is, Well, it's Thomas, very
good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Good morning, Mike Cay. It did very well.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Indeed, how locals local Is it a street, is it
a block, Is it a neighborhood, is it a community?
How do they work that out?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yeah, so there's a bit of a variety in how
they work it out, depending on the kinds of neighborhoods
that were already there in the city. But it's crucial
to kind of point out this isn't something they've done recently.
This goes back to nineteen ninety eight. They were trying
to get smaller lot sizes. Specifically, you know, they had
these big, sprawling, suburban, massive American houses and they're like, oh,

(00:48):
we're going to identify people need to be able to
build smaller. So back in nineteen ninety eight they shrunk
the minimum lot size, but different streets or subdivisions could
opt out. But that means that people actually signed up
to it and they got twenty five thousands more houses
out of it.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
Okay, so that you'd have to agree that you want
twenty five thousand more houses. What about the overarching stuff
that councils can't keep their noses out of far lest governments.
How do they deal with that?

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well? I think you kind of have to start by assuming, Mike,
that the people at local council don't always know what's best.
You know, you might be able to get on board
with that, but really, you know, the standard things councils do.
Councils have to do, but in terms of should we
have more houses in this neighborhood or on this street,
streets could be able to sign up for that themselves.

(01:36):
In Houston, what they did is say we're getting more houses,
but streets can opt out with a sixty percent supermajority,
and it expires after twenty five years and you'd have
to go sign up again. So there's a bias in
favor of more housing, but the most committed opponents could
opt out of it.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
What's literally the mechanism as a member of that community.
Do I have to attend these meetings and go number
forty seven here, I vote four X? Is that literally
how it works? Everyone's actually involved in the process.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
I think what it'd be is simply there'd be a
petition voting format where you could have a few committed
people who go and sit in the meetings. But if
you get the signatures of people in the community, that's
enough years or no. So a few diehards have to
do that the shoe leather politics and go and doorknock
get to know their neighbors, but most people don't have
to attend the meeting.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Interesting. Good to talk to you, Thomas. Thomas Scrimshier, who's
with the Maxim Institute. Have a look at Houston if
you want to see how they do it.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
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