Transcriber: Ian Edwards Reviewer: Tanya Cushman
Every day,
regular people like you and me come in my office looking for a miracle,
a place to call home.
Now, I know it may sound outrageous
to have both "home" and "miracle" in the same sentence,
but we have a housing shortage in our country.
And I personally have seen, over my lifetime,
how renting, buying and building a home has become more challenging
in some of the areas of the United States
and nearly impossible in others.
I’m a housing advocate,
and I say it's time to revitalize our "American Dream"
and put the housing needs of today
front and center
with housing options that provide natural affordability in our marketplace
and economic mobility in our society,
one that represents our 21st-century realities, preferences and needs.
See, in the beginning of the 20th century,
my grandfather's family came to the United States from Italy.
And in 1953, he and my grandmother bought a parcel of land in Lansing, Michigan.
(Cheers)
We represent.
(Laughter)
And with his own hands, he built a modest three-bedroom home
where they raised their six children on his sole income.
Growing up, my cousins and I had dinner there every Sunday.
That home and the life my grandparents built
is the foundation of who I am today.
But my grandparents weren't unique.
In fact, there's an entire generation just like them.
And for them, owning a home was emblematic of the land of opportunity.
So we created the GI Bill,
our housing policies and our zoning regulations
to actualize that version of the Dream.
The market responded
and built thousands of homes to meet the demand.
See, my grandparents - probably our grandparents - had options.
As I said, we have a housing shortage in our country,
and the people who come into my office are experiencing a crisis.
Despite a decent job and good rental history,
they can't find a place to live.
They are victims of outdated zoning,
population blooms and dysfunctional economics.
They have few options.
In the ‘80s, I lived in Santa Cruz, California,
and I remember looking for an apartment with some friends.
We spent the day driving from place to place,
looking at some that were a little more than we could afford,
but in a nicer neighborhood,
and others that were rough, but we'd be able to save money.
Back then, we had options.
See, by having a selection both of quality and size of housing to choose from,
there was natural affordability and movement in the marketplace.
Translation?
Just like my grandparents, I could find a home
and build a life that was right for me
versus today,
where you have to take anything,
even if it's too big or too small or too expensive.
Simply put,
the zoning regulations that we created for my grandparents' American Dream
don't match the economic realities of today,
leaving the people of this century
out in the cold -
sometimes literally.
Across America,
rents and home prices are too high for even middle-income levels.
In fact, over 18 million households
are spending more than 50% of their annual income on housing.
Right?
So finding a home and building a life is constrained at best.
And for those who make less than $30,000 a year,
the situation is even more dire.
They have no options.
There are two dirty words in housing: "affordable" and "density."
Both represent the "not-in-my-backyard" and status-quo thinking
that contribute to our current state of affairs.
But the real dirty words are "single-family zoning."
The fact is that the single-family zoning that we created in the '50s
does not match the economic realities nor our needs and preferences of today,
resulting in housing that is too big for our lifestyle
and too expensive for our pocketbooks.
Yet in most communities,
it's easier to build a McMansion than a multi-family residence,
resulting in fewer starter homes for Millennials
and fewer places for Boomers to downsize.
Let's face it.
The way we live, work and play has changed dramatically since 1950.
As Einstein said,
"You can't solve your problem
with the same thinking you used when you created it."
So long as we keep thinking about people and housing in the same old way -
that affordable housing is for poor people
and that density brings down our property values -
then we're going to continue to get the same distressing outcomes
that result in a personal crisis for millions of Americans
every single day.
How about this?
How about we change our definition of those words
and think that "affordable housing"
actually means realistic rents and mortgages
that the wages of today can pay.
(Cheers and applause)
Yeah.
And that "density" means
having diversity and choice of the type of housing to live in.
So it's not just zoning that makes our housing unaffordable.
Construction costs and land prices have skyrocketed.
And since 1980, we have added an astonishing hundred million people
to our population.
By 2050, we will do it again:
adding another hundred million people to our population.
Where are we going to put them all
when we're adding people faster than housing?
In fact, in 2015,
for every ten new families, we only built six new places for them to live.
This lack of supply drives up rents and home prices for all of us.
See, by having housing diversity in the marketplace,
which includes repurposed homes and apartment buildings,
we offer natural affordability in our marketplace
and economic mobility in our society.
So let's zone for apartments and tiny houses and in-law suites
so that the market forces of today can respond with options.
Nationally, we have a gap both in affordability and in inventory.
And despite the complexities of both of these very big issues,
we can actually all be part of a solution to add housing in our neighborhoods.
So, now I live on Cape Cod,
(Cheers)
which is on the east coast of the United States.
We are a highly desirable beach community
where second homes make up 40% of all of the inventory in our region
and single-family homes make up 80% of all of the housing inventory
in our region.
So with every sale and new construction,
that percentage increases for two simple reasons:
One, our second home owners make more money than our year-round workforce.
And our zoning generally only allows one house per acre lot.
That means if I owned a piece of land the size of a football field,
I could only build one house.
I'm the head of our region's housing agency,
and every day, people come in our office struggling to find a place to live.
These conversations compel us to find solutions and to take actions.
So, first, we are advocating for the necessary zoning changes
in our region
that allow something other than one house per acre lot
and that is also environmentally sustainable for our beautiful region.
Second, I believe allowing a homeowner the right to build and rent
a smaller apartment on their existing lot
will not only give us that diversity in the marketplace;
it will also give them passive income.
So it's a win-win.
(Applause and cheering)
Right? But we need inventory now.
So I developed a new program that's called "Rent 365."
And we incentivize second-home owners
to convert their home to a year-round rental.
Now, I understand this program is not for every second home
nor is it for every second-home owner.
So we targeted our efforts
on homes owned by family trusts and homes valued under $500,000
because we figured these owners
would be most willing to see their asset in a new way
and most willing to help our year-round workforce,
like our police officers and our school teachers and our home health aides.
So we explained the benefits of having these year-round tenants in their home,
we paid them a $1,000 stipend,
and we guided them on the best practices of becoming a landlord.
And, because these homeowners were willing to see their asset in a new way,
we were able to add over 20 rental homes to the marketplace
in less than a year
without picking up a hammer.
(Cheers and applause)
It's pretty awesome.
Typical construction of the same would have taken years
and would have cost my agency well over $350,0000
just to build one of those homes.
See, when we decide to see what's already there in a new way
or to see things differently -
like our people and our housing,
like this affordability issue and this inventory gap -
then we can all be part of creating solutions for our neighborhoods.
So we can consider renting a room in your home.
If you own your home,
consider building an apartment in a walkout basement or above a garage.
And each of us can ask for the zoning
that allows for something other than one house per lot
in our neighborhood.
Right?
Because 21st-century realities deserve 21st-century solutions.
A home is where the land of opportunity materializes,
it's where our values are set,
it's where our dreams are realized,
and it's where the people we love
come together.
So if we are a nation that truly values an American Dream -
an individual's ability to prosper
no matter the situation or circumstance they were born into -
then let's address this housing crisis with a fresh perspective
and a sense of urgency.
And when we embrace this notion
that having housing diversity in our marketplace,
like repurposed second homes and apartment buildings,
provide variety and options for our people,
then we will have natural affordability and economic mobility in our society.
And then, together, collectively,
we can empower the next hundred million Americans
to dream big.
(Applause)