YIMBY News for 9/30

[Eric Budd]

Home in Tacoma Rezones Generate Small Permit Bump in First Months 

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 61.98. affordable, affordable housing, apartment, comprehensive plan, construction, density, development, growth, homeowner, house, housing, housing crisis, mixed-use, project, rent, single family, single-family, transit center, urban, walk, zone, zoning

Tacoma’s goal to add 59,000 homes by 2050 may take additional action by the City. With over half a year since becoming official city policy, what impact have Home in Tacoma’s housing policy changes actually had? While the progress of individual housing developments to final completion can be hard to measure, construction permits offer us a window allowing some educated predictions on the rate of new housing development in Tacoma. Analysis of recent permitting data highlights a small uptick in new housing developments, but it has not yet put Tacoma on pace to keep up with estimated population g

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Burien Eyes Rolling Back Zoning Changes in Response to Homeowner Pressure

The Urbanist

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KEYWORD SCORE: 50.75. affordable, affordable housing, apartment, comprehensive plan, density, development, downtown, homeowner, house, housing, planning commission, rent, single family, urban, walk, zone, zoning

After months of advocacy by homeowners in exclusive neighborhoods, the City of Burien is officially set to consider reversing zoning changes made last year that modestly increased allowed housing density in parts of Seahurst, Lake Burien, and Three Tree Point. Last fall, the Burien City Council unanimously approved an update to the city’s Comprehensive Plan that included the zoning updates, which had been intended to foster walkable neighborhoods with more community amenities. However, detractors had spent much of this year painting the new zoning as being out-of-alignment with the city’s envi

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Trump’s new tariffs will slam America’s already brutal housing crisis

Vox - Policy

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KEYWORD SCORE: 44.31. affordable, apartment, construction, development, growth, homeowner, house, housing, housing cost, housing crisis, project, real estate, rent, renter, single-family, supply, walk

[image: A man carrying strips of wood for a new home under construction] New homes under construction in Vacaville, California, on September 3, 2025. | David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Housing in America is about to get more expensive, thanks to new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump that will take effect this Wednesday, October 1. The new tariffs include a 50 percent tax on imported kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30 percent on upholstered furniture, and 25 percent on heavy trucks used in construction. These will join existing tariffs on steel, aluminum, and lumber,

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After Grants Pass Ruling, Oakland Cracks Down Harder on Unhoused Communities

Next City

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KEYWORD SCORE: 34.55. affordable, affordable housing, development, house, housing, parking, rent, transportation, urban

[image: Backyard] Sam Morales, a resident of a homeless encampment along Wood Street, works to clean up his space in Oakland, California, on July 24, 2019. (Photo by Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP) *This story was co-published in collaboration with Shelterforce, the only independent, non-academic publication covering the worlds of affordable housing, community development and housing justice.* In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials in Oakland, California, began making attempts to cooperate with the city’s unhoused communities, experimenting with co-governed s

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California’s Push to Clear Homeless Encampments

Governing

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KEYWORD SCORE: 31.50. apartment, development, house, housing, parking, rent, urban

In Brief: Following a Supreme Court ruling, dozens of California cities have enacted camping bans and are enforcing them. For some leaders and legislators, this shift marks a turn away from an emphasis on permanent housing that they say has been disastrous for the state, leading to sprawling encampments and quality of life issues. Gov. Gavin Newsom is encouraging localities to sweep encampments and find ways to shelter people experiencing homelessness. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled definitively that cities are allowed to enforce camping bans, punishing people for sleeping outdoors even if

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Boulder County lays off 31 employees, cuts about 60 vacant positions

Daily Camera Boulder News

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KEYWORD SCORE: 19.48. housing, housing authority, project, public hearing, rent

Boulder County announced Monday that it has eliminated about 90 positions, including laying off 31 employees and cutting about 60 vacant positions, because of a budget deficit. The Boulder County Housing Authority and Boulder County Public Health also plan to eliminate an as-yet-to-be determined number of positions, according to the county. Boulder County spokesperson Gloria Handyside said she’s not currently releasing a list of the eliminated positions. She added the county is offering a voluntary severance package between Oct. 1 and Dec. 1. Next year’s recommended budget, which will be prese

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