YIMBY News for 9/3

[Eric Budd]

What Montana Can Teach Us About Housing Reform

Governing

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KEYWORD SCORE: 40.42. apartment, construction, development, growth, homeowner, housing, housing cost, land-use, parking, supply, urban, zone, zoning

In 2023, Montana policymakers passed one of the most comprehensive state-level housing reform packages to date. The Big Sky State was experiencing a severe housing shortage, contributing to a staggering increase in prices. Missoula, for example, has seen a 64 percent jump in housing costs over the last 20 years, adjusted for inflation. Recognizing that regulations, including local zoning rules, were the root cause, Gov. Greg Gianforte appointed a task force that I had the privilege of serving on. Following task force recommendations, the 2023 Legislature passed laws that legalized homeowners’

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James Anderson: How to Encourage Innovation in Local Government

Strong Towns

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KEYWORD SCORE: 38.30. development, growth, housing, nimby, project, rent, urban, walk

Chuck is joined by *James Anderson, head of the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies*. Under his leadership, the program has helped around 100 cities worldwide embrace an innovative, people-based approach to local governance. Today, Chuck and James discuss why local governments matter now more than ever. Then they explore ways that residents, advocates, and organizations can encourage city leaders to embrace innovation. - Click here for the transcript. (Lightly edited for readability.) Chuck Marohn 0:00 Hey everybody. This is Chuck Marohn. Welcome back to the Strong Towns

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The woman behind the Mighty Argo in Idaho Springs

Colorado Sun

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KEYWORD SCORE: 34.81. construction, development, downtown, growth, house, housing, hud, parking, preservation, project, real estate, rent, supply, transportation, walk, zone

[image: The Outsider logo] ------------------------------ *IDAHO SPRINGS* — Mary Jane Loevlie, standing next to twin 35,000-gallon water tanks and a freshly poured foundation for the Mighty Argo Cable Car gondola and a mountain top restaurant and amphitheater she’s building above her hometown, spreads her arms wide and yells. “It’s really happening. Never give up! Never, ever give up,” she hollers. Loevlie grew up in Idaho Springs. She grew an international business there and started some 20 other other companies as part of a mission to protect the historic vibe in the town where she and her h

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New Seattle Clinic to Provide Post-Overdose Stabilization Services

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 31.55. affordable, affordable housing, downtown, house, housing, project, rent, supply, urban, walk

Last week, the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) celebrated the grand opening of its new Downtown Behavioral Health Clinic. Included onsite is its Opioid Recovery & Care Access (ORCA) Center, which will provide a safe landing place for people to recover after an overdose. The new clinic is located at 515 Third Avenue, across from the King County Courthouse and just a block from the Pioneer Square light rail stop. It is set to open for service today (September 2). The outpatient behavioral health clinic will provide services previously available at DESC’s old space, including psychiatric

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Colorado launches new building code designed to encourage efficient, all-electric homes

Colorado Public Radio

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KEYWORD SCORE: 27.91. affordable, affordable housing, house, housing, housing price, project, supply, transportation

Colorado has officially adopted a new building code designed to make homes and offices more climate-friendly without further inflating the state’s high cost of living. The Colorado Energy Office published its Model Low Energy and Carbon Code today, which will become the state’s new minimum building code on July 1, 2026. After that date, all cities and counties must adopt the regulations whenever they update local building codes or adopt even tougher local building efficiency rules. “Colorado is helping to pave the way for a more affordable cost of living and, at the same time, making significa

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Louisville resident initiatives can move forward, hearing officer finds; election decision will follow

Daily Camera Boulder News

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KEYWORD SCORE: 23.70. affordable, affordable housing, development, housing, impact fee, public hearing, rent, zone, zoning

Two initiatives in Louisville about affordable housing, zoning and the fees property developers pay to the city have been OK’d by a hearing officer Tuesday following a public hearing last week. The decision allows the initiatives to go to City Council, which could then either adopt them or send them to voters in an election. City Council will hold a special meeting Thursday to consider adopting the measures as they’re currently written or refer them to a ballot. A community effort called Love4Louisville, led by residents Janette Kotichas and Jean Morgan, filed the initiatives with the City Cle

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Texas' Road-Building Plans Keep Growing

Governing

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KEYWORD SCORE: 23.31. bike lane, construction, development, growth, preservation, project, transportation, urban, walk

Even with a generation of new departments of government efficiency sweeping across the land, there are some kinds of spending that public officials still like to boast about. When it comes to road construction, the bigger the price tag, the better. And no state is doing it bigger than Texas. Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a new spending plan for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) that calls for more than $146 billion to be spent on road construction and maintenance over the next decade. It’s the third year in a row that the 10-year Unified Transportation Program (UTP)

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The 65-year-old theory that helps explain why the Democrats keep losing

Vox - Policy

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KEYWORD SCORE: 21.63. homeowner, house, housing, nimby, project, rent

[image: Protect Medicaid sign] Democrats tried to emphasize Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill, but this is hard to message, as the program goes by different names in many states. | Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images Democratic strategists think the party has a messaging problem. Post-election autopsies overflowed with countless cross-tabs of how Democrats “underperformed” with demographic after demographic. There are endless debates about which words poll better (should Democrats stop using “ microaggression”?) — as if anybody were even listening. T

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How a Walk Audit Can Build Community and Momentum

Strong Towns

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KEYWORD SCORE: 20.73. development, parking, project, public hearing, rent, renter, urban, walk, zone

*Gioia Calabretta is one of the leaders of Livable Lynchburg, a Local Conversation in Virginia.* She is also Strong Towns’ graphic design intern. She and Norm discuss a walk audit she recently participated in, as well as her unique viewpoint as both a Local Conversation leader and Strong Towns staff member. - Click here for the transcript. (Lightly edited for readability.) Norm Van Eeden Petersman 0:00 Norm. Hello and welcome to Bottom-Up Shorts. I'm Norm with Strong Towns. After meeting so many of our Strong Towns members and other advocates within our communities, I would say "I want to tell

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