Item 2 - Exhibit 04 - Missing Middle HousingContent from https://missingmiddlehousing.com/about
What is Missing Middle Housing?
Opticos Design founder Daniel Parolek inspired a new movement for housing
choice in 2010 when he coined the term “Missing Middle Housing,” a
transformative concept that highlights a time-proven and beloved way to provide
more housing and more housing choices in sustainable, walkable places.
Missing Middle Housing:
House-scale buildings
with multiple units
in walkable neighborhoods
These building types, such as duplexes, fourplexes and bungalow courts, provide
diverse housing options to support walkable communities, locally-serving retail,
and public transportation options. We call them “Missing” because they have
typically been illegal to build since the mid-1940s and “Middle” because they sit
in the middle of a spectrum between detached single-family homes and mid-rise
to high-rise apartment buildings, in terms of form and scale, as well as number of
units and often, affordability.
Missing Middle Housing is primarily about the form and scale of these buildings, designed to provide
more housing choices in low-rise walkable neighborhoods, although it also tends to be more affordable
than other new housing products currently being built.
EXHIBIT 4
And while they are “missing” from our new building stock, these types of
buildings from the 1920s and 30s are beloved by many who have lived in
them. Ask around, and your aunt may have fond memories of living in a fourplex
as a child, or you might remember visiting your grandmother as she grew old in a
duplex with neighbors nearby to help her out. And today, young couples,
teachers, single, professional women and baby boomers are among those
looking for ways to live in a walkable neighborhood, but without the cost and
maintenance burden of a detached single-family home. Missing Middle Housing
helps solve the mismatch between the available U.S. housing stock and shifting
demographics combined with the growing demand for walkability.
We need a greater mix of housing types to meet differing income and
generational needs. This is where Missing Middle Housing can change the
conversation.”
— Debra Bassert, National Association of Home Builders
Opticos Design is driving a radical paradigm shift, urging cities, elected officials,
urban planners, architects and builders to fundamentally rethink the way they
design, locate, regulate, and develop homes. Americans want and need more
diverse housing choices in walkable neighborhoods; homes that are attainable,
sustainable, and beautifully designed.
This website is designed to serve as a collective resource for elected officials,
planners and developers seeking to implement Missing Middle projects. You
will find clear definitions of the types of housing that are best for creating
walkable neighborhoods, as well as information on the unifying characteristics of
these building types. You’ll also find information on how to integrate Missing
Middle Housing into existing neighborhoods, how to regulate these building
types, and pin-point the market demographic that demands them.
“If there’s one thing Americans love, it’s choices: what to eat, where to work,
who to vote for. But when it comes where we live or how to get around, our
choices can be limited. Many people of all ages would like to live in vibrant
neighborhoods, downtowns, and Main Streets—places where jobs and shops lie
within walking distance—but right now those places are in short supply. ‘Missing
Middle’ Housing provides more housing choices. And when we have more
choices, we create living, thriving neighborhoods for people and businesses.
— Lynn Richards, President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism
What does the market want?
Demand for Housing Choice
A greater variety of household sizes and demographics require a greater variety
of housing choices.
Young, highly educated, technology-driven millennials desire mobile, walkable
lifestyles. They are willing to exchange space for shorter commutes, mixed-use
neighborhoods, and shared open spaces that foster community interaction.
At the same time, baby boomers are working and living longer. They want to
stay mobile and active in their later years, but they won’t drive forever and don’t
want to be dependent on their family members to get around. They also want to
find ways to stay in their community without having to care for a large home and
yard.
Multigenerational homes have increased by 17% since 1940, and that number
continues to rise. The growing senior population, more families with multiple
working parents, diverse family cultures, and an increased desire to live in
intergenerational neighborhoods all contribute to the growing demand for
multigenerational and even multi-family households. Affluent seniors seek to
downsize from their large suburban homes to more convenient, easy-to-care-for
townhouses, apartments, or condos, while others need quality, affordable
housing that won’t break their limited budget. Many retirees would like to move
close to, but not live with, their children and grandchildren.
The growing demand for a walkable lifestyle
has the potential to transform sprawling
suburbs into walkable communities.
90% of available housing in the U.S. is located in a
conventional neighborhood of single-family homes, adding
up to a 35 million unit housing shortage. Source: Dr.
Arthur C. Nelson, “Missing Middle: Demand and
Benefits,” Utah Land Use Institute conference, October
21, 2014.
Walkable and Accessible Amenities
Up to 85% of households will be childless by 2025.
“This country is in the middle of a structural shift toward a walkable urban way of
living. After 60 years of almost exclusively building a drivable suburban way of
life … the consumer is now demanding the other alternative,” wrote Christopher
Leinberger in the New York Times article “Car-Free in America? Bottom Line: It’s
Cheaper.”
By 2020, 34% of all American households will consist of a single person, and
many of these will be women, or older persons. By 2025, up to 85% of
households will be childless as millennials choose to marry later and have fewer
children and the number of empty nester households continues to grow.
Housing trends show singles demand more amenities, and women and older
persons who live alone generally seek housing options that offer better security.
They also drive less, reducing the need for off-street parking in private garages
or lots, and increasing the need for accessible public transportation.
“The present economic research finds that business wants talent, but talent
wants place—so more businesses are relocating to places. When drilled further
the research finds Missing Middle Housing is the fastest growing preference
because it has the ‘place’ quality talent seeks. Hence development of Missing
Middle is now recognized as a housing AND economic development strategy.”
— James Tischler, Michigan State Housing Development Authority
According to the National Association of Realtors, walkability is fast becoming
one of the most important factors in choosing where to live. People want of all
ages want easy access to amenities such as stores, businesses, cultural center,
and transit.Homebuyers are seeking locations within walking distance to
shopping, cultural amenities, jobs, and open space and the value of homes in
these types of neighborhoods has increased at a much faster pace than homes
in driveable suburban neighborhoods. “In a scenario where two houses are
nearly identical, the one with a five-foot-wide sidewalk and two street tress not
only sells for up to $34,000 more, but it also sells in less time,” wrote J. Cortright,
in CEOs for Cities’ Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Home Values in
U.S. Cities. But, as the chart at the right shows, now you don’t have to live in a
dense urban center to live a walkable lifestyle. Some 70% of upcoming, walkable
places in Washington D.C. are quaint neighborhoods located outside of the
urban core.
70% of walkable places in Washington D.C. are located outside the urban core.
Variety of Transportation
Accessibility to useful multimodal transit—public transportation, bike friendly
streets, and car share—is needed by baby boomers and desired by millennials.
But there is an economic argument, too.
“American families who are car-dependent spent 25% of their household income
on their fleet of cars, compared to just 9% for transportation for those who live in
walkable urban places,” says Leinberger.
Walkable neighborhoods are now a top priority for
seniors, along with access to transportation, and
connectivity. Source: What’s Next? Real Estate in the
New Economy, Urban Land Institute, 2011;
Transportation for America.
The same is true for bike friendly cities. According to the Livable Street
Alliance, as reported on the AARP Livability Fact Sheet, the average American
household spends more than $8,000 a year on cars while the cost to maintain a
bicycle is only about $300 per year. These savings, which could amount into the
billions if trends were widely adopted, could be reinvested into transit-oriented
development and infrastructure, education, and health care.
Cities and property owners benefit from less car dependent zoning too. “An off-
street parking space costs between $3,000 and $27,000 to build, and about $500
a year to maintain and manage. On-street parking is more efficient and can bring
in as much as $300,000 per space in annual revenues,” writes Prof. Donald
Shoup, in Instead of Free Parking.
An increasing number of
Americans spend close to
30% of their income on
housing while
transportation costs can
consume an additional
20% or more of household
income. Source: What’s
Next? Real Estate in the
New Economy, Urban
Land Institute, 2011.
Affordability
Housing affordability is a primary concern for many Americans across the country
ranging from blue-collar workers to early-career singles, young families and
seniors. There is an increasing segment of the population that spends more than
30% of their income on housing, reducing their purchasing power for other
amenities (Source: What’s Next? Real Estate in the New Economy, Urban Land
Institute, 2011).
Smaller homes and apartments cost less to rent or purchase and maintain, while
urban neighborhoods provide services and amenities within walking distance as
well as a variety of affordable transportation options.
Cities and towns that want to retain or attract these household types need to
focus on providing diverse, affordable housing options near jobs, schools, and
other amenities within walkable communities. In addition, suburbs that want to
retain their aging populations and attract newer, younger families, will need to
create new, walkable urban environments and encourage the construction fo
Missing Middle Housing through rezoning and by providing public transportation
options.
Sense of Community
More and more, Americans say living in a diverse community that includes
people at all stages of life is an important factor in determining where to live.
Seniors want to live near family and friends, but not with them. Missing Middle
building types allow people to stay in their community thoroughout their lives
because of the variety of sizes available and an increased accessibility to
services and amenities.
Almost 49% of Americans are living in a
multigenerational household. Source: Pew
Research Center analysis of U.S. Decennial
Census and American Community Surveys.
According to Chris Leinberger in his article “The Next Slum?” for The
Atlantic, elements that used to draw families into the suburbs—better schools
and safer communities—are now becoming the norm in cities, while these
elements could worsen in suburbs that are dependent on home values and new
development.
Housing market projections suggest that construction in the near future will
accelerate only moderately for single-family housing but will greatly increase for
multifamily housing (Source: Jordan Rappaport, “The Demographic Shift From
Single-Family to Multifamily Housing,” Economic Review, Kansas City: Federal
Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 2013). Implemented in both urban and rural
contexts, Missing Middle Housing allows people to stay in their community during
different stages of life because of the wide variety of sizes, housing levels, and
accessibility it provides.
What are the characteristics of
Missing Middle Housing?
Missing Middle Housing is not a new type of building. It is a range of building
types that exist in cities and towns across the country and were a fundamental
building block in pre-1940s neighborhoods. They are most likely present on some
of your favorite city blocks—you may even have them in your own neighborhood.
Combined together (and usually with detached single-family homes), Missing
Middle building types help provide enough households within walking distance to
support public transit and local businesses, and they are found within many of
the most in-demand communities in places like Denver, Cincinnati, Austin and
San Francisco.
So what do Missing Middle building types have in common?
Development patterns in walkable urban neighborhoods make
walking and biking convenient and support robust public transit.
(Bouldin Creek neighborhood in Austin, TX.)
Walkable Context
Missing Middle housing types are best located in a walkable context. Buyers and
renters of these housing types are often trading space (housing and yard square
footage) for place (proximity to services and amenities).
Small-Footprint Buildings
These housing types typically have small- to medium-sized footprints, with a
body width, depth and height no larger than a detached single -family home. This
allows a range of Missing Middle types—with varying densities but compatible
forms—to be blended into a neighborhood, encouraging a mix of socioeconomic
households and making these types a good tool for compatible infill.
Missing Middle housing types generally have a similar size
footprint to detached single-family homes.
Lower Perceived Density
Due to the small footprint of the building types and the fact that they are usually
mixed with a variety of building types even on an individual block, the perceived
density of these types is usually quite low—they do not look like dense buildings.
But one of the primary benefits of Missing Middle Housing is that it helps provide
the number of households needed for transit and neighborhood-serving local
businesses to be viable (typically about 16 dwelling units per acre).
“From the perspective of my work, Missing Middle Housing has a natural
complement in MMP (missing middle plan), a.k.a. a ‘hybrid grid’ or as named it in
my work, a Fused Grid … The Fused Grid proposes a set of neighborhood
modular layouts (reminiscent of Savannah) that incorporate all the desirable
elements—livability, safety, security, sociability, and delight—as do MMH
buildings.”
— Fanis Grammenos, Director of Urban Pattern Associates and author of
“Remaking the City Street Grid – A Model for Urban and Suburban Development”
Smaller, Well-Designed Units
Most Missing Middle housing types have smaller units. The challenge is to create
small spaces that are well designed, comfortable, and usable. The ultimate unit
size will depend on the context, but smaller-sized units can help developers keep
their costs down and attract a different market of buyers and renters who are not
being provided for in all markets.
One characteristic of Missing Middle Housing is smaller, well-
designed units. Courtesy: The Cottage Company
Fewer Off-street Parking Spaces
Because they are built in walkable neighborhoods with proximity to transportation
options and commercial amenities, Missing Middle housing types do not need the
same amount of parking as suburban housing. We typically recommend no more
than one parking spot per unit, and preferably less. In fact, requiring more than
one parking space per unit can make Missing Middle Housing infeasible to build.
For example, if your zoning code requires two parking spaces per unit, a fourplex
would require eight parking spaces, which would never fit on a typical residential
lot. In addition, providing that much off-street parking for each fourplex would
create a neighborhood of small parking lots rather than the desired neighborhood
of homes. Finally, requiring too much parking means that fewer households can
fit in the same amount of land, lessening the viability of transit and local
businesses.
Simple Construction
Missing Middle Housing is simply constructed (wood-frame/Type V), which
makes it a very attractive alternative for developers to achieve good densities
without the added financing challenges and risk of more complex construction
types. This aspect can also increase affordability when units are sold or rented.
As providing single family detached sub-$200,000 starter homes is becoming
increasingly out of reach for builders across the country, Missing Middle Housing
can provide an attractive and affordable alternative starter home.
Creates Community
Missing Middle Housing creates community through the integration of shared
community spaces within the building type (e.g. bungalow court), or simply from
being located within a vibrant neighborhood with places to eat, drink, and
socialize.
This is an important aspect in particular
considering the growing market of single-
person households (nearly 30% of all
households) that want to be part of a
community.
Missing Middle housing types help to create walkable
communities.
Marketable
Because of the increasing demand from baby boomers and millennials, as well
as shifting household demographics, the market is demanding more vibrant,
sustainable, walkable places to live. These Missing Middle housing types
respond directly to this demand.
In addition, the scale of these housing types makes them more attractive to many
buyers who want to live in a walkable neighborhood, but may not want to live in a
large condominium or apartment building.
If there is land for beautifully-designed homes that fill a gap between stand-alone
houses and mid-rise apartments, the smart thing to do is to fill it with housing
types we’ve been missing in our market for so long.”
— Heather Hood, Deputy Director, Northern California, Enterprise Community
Partners
How does Missing Middle Housing
integrate into blocks?
Missing Middle Housing types typically have a footprint not larger than a large
detached single-family home, making it easy to integrate them into existing
neighborhoods, and serve as a way for the neighborhood to transition to higher-
density and main street contexts. There are a number of ways in which this can
be accomplished:
Distributed throughout a block
Missing Middle Housing types are spread throughout the block and stand side-
by-side with detached single-family homes. This blended pattern of detached
single-family homes and Missing Middle Housing types, with densities up to 40
dwelling units per acre, works well because the forms of these types are never
larger than a large house.
“For us, mixing housing types is important in today’s market. Buyers want
choices, the investors and lenders want more flexibility in the projects, and
planning officials expect a more thoughtful integration into the existing
neighborhoods. The mixing of product provides a diverse community, enhances
value, and it helps create the type of place our buyers are looking for today.”
— David Leazenby, Onyx+East
Placed on the end-grain of a block
Missing Middle Housing types are placed on the end-grain of a block with
detached single-family homes, facing the primary street, which is often a slightly
busier corridor than the streets to which the detached single-family homes are
oriented. The most common condition is to have several fourplex units on the
end grain lots facing the primary street. This configuration is usually located on
the end grain of several continuous blocks adjacent to a neighborhood main
street, which increases the blended density to achieve the 16 dwelling
units/acre necessary to support small, locally-serving commercial and service
amenities.
This configuration allows for the use of slightly larger buildings because the
Missing Middle housing types are not sitting next to detached single-family
homes. In this block type, the alley to the rear of the lots also allows for a good
transition in scale to the detached single-family home lots behind them. Often
you will see a similar block configuration with one or two fourplexes on the
corners of the end grain lots on the block.
Transitioning to a commercial corridor
Missing Middle Housing is excellent to transition from a neighborhood to a Main
Street with commercial and mixed-use buildings. These types are generally more
tolerant and better able to effectively mitigate any potential conflicts related to the
proximity to commercial/retail buildings or parking lots behind commercial
buildings.
Transitioning to higher-density housing
Smaller-scale Missing Middle Housing types are placed on a few of the lots that
transition from the side street to the primary street, providing a transition in scale
to the larger buildings on the end grain of the block along the primary street.
What’s the best way to regulate
Missing Middle Housing?
Hint: Conventional Zoning Doesn’t Work
Conventional (Euclidean) zoning practice regulates primarily by land use or
allowed activities, dividing neighborhoods into single-family residential,
multifamily residential, commercial, office, etc. This separation of uses is the
antithesis of mixed-use walkable neighborhoods. Along with use, the zones are
often defined and controlled by unpredictable numeric values, such as floor area
ratio (FAR) and density, which create all sorts of barriers to Missing Middle
Housing.
For starters, Missing Middle Housing (MMH) is intended to be part of low-rise
residential neighborhoods, which are typically zoned as “single-family residential”
in conventional zoning. However, because MMH contains multiple units, it is, by
definition, not allowed in single-family zones. On the other hand, most multifamily
zones in conventional codes allow much bigger buildings (taller and wider) and
also typically encourage lot aggregation and large suburban garden apartment
buildings. The environments created by these zones are not what Missing Middle
Housing is intended for.
In addition, density-based zoning doesn’t work with the blended densities that are
typical in neighborhoods where Missing Middle Housing thrives. MMH are similar
in form and scale to detached single-family homes, but because they include
more units, they often vary dramatically in their densities, making them
impossible to regulate with a density-based system. For example, a bungalow
court can have densities of up to 35 dwelling units per acre even though the
buildings are only one story tall, because the size of each cottage is only 25 feet
by 30 feet. So if a zoning district sets a maximum density of 20 dwelling units per
acre, it would not allow the bungalow court type. On the other hand, if the zoning
district has a maximum density of 35 dwelling units per acre with few or no
additional form standards, every builder/developer will max out a lot with a large,
out-of-scale apartment building, rather than building the bungalow court the
neighborhood would prefer.
And one more thing: density-based zoning treats all units the same regardless of
size. This means that a 3,500-square-foot unit is considered the same as a 600-
square-foot unit for calculations such as density, parking and open space, thus
discouraging much-needed smaller units. For example, a fourplex with four 600sf
units would require four times the parking and open space as a 2,400sf detached
single-family home, even though the size of the building is the same, typically
making the fourplex infeasible to fit on a typical lot.
This Alameda, CA neighborhood has several Missing Middle
housing types on each block.
The Alternative: Form-Based Coding
Form-Based Coding is a proven alternative to conventional zoning that effectively
regulates Missing Middle Housing. Form-Based Codes (FBCs) remove barriers
and incentivize Missing Middle Housing in appropriate locations in a community.
FBCs represent a paradigm shift in the way that we regulate the built
environment, using physical form rather than a separation of uses as the
organizing principal, to create predictable, built results and a high-quality public
realm.
The Form-Based Approach to Regulating Missing
Middle Housing
Regulating Missing Middle Housing starts by defining a range of housing types
appropriate for the community based on the community’s existing physical
patterns, climate, and other considerations, as part of the early Community
Character Analysis phase of a planning and Form-Based Coding project.
A building types page from Cincinnati’s Form-Based
Code
Then for each form-based zone, a specific range of housing types is allowed
based on the intention for the neighborhood. For example, in a walkable
neighborhood, single-family-detached homes, bungalow courts, and side-by-side
duplexes may be allowed, or in a slightly more urban walkable neighborhood,
bungalow courts, side-by-side duplexes, stacked duplexes, fourplexes, and small
multiplexes might be allowed.
A zone from the Cincinnati’s Form-Based Code
In addition for each type, there are typically supplemental form standards that are
regulated to allow some of the individual aspects of certain MMH types while
preventing overbuilding in terms of height and bulk. For example, a bungalow
court type typically allows for more units, but has a maximum height of 1–1.5
stories, a maximum building footprint/unit size of around 800 square feet and a
minimum size of courtyard. A Form-Based Code can regulate these fine-grained
details, such that on a 100′ by 100′ lot, two fourplexes or a bungalow court with
eight small, one-story units could be allowed, but not a single, larger eight-unit
apartment building.
For these reasons and more, Form-Based Coding is the most effective way to
enable Missing Middle Housing.
The small multiplex building type from Cincinnati’s
Form-Based Code
“I want to thank you for your great work on Missing Middle Housing! It has been
useful in my current research on policy reforms to support more affordable infill
development in Victoria, B.C., and informing my report ‘Affordable Accessible
Housing in a Dynamic City.’”
— Todd Litman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute
For more information about Form-Based
Codes, see:
• Form-Based Codes: A Guide to Planners,
Urban Designers, Municipalities, and
Developers,
by Daniel Parolek, Karen Parolek, and Paul
C. Crawford
• Form-Based Codes Institute
Form-Based Codes with Building Types to
Reference:
• Cincinnati, OH (And read this blog
post about the project)
• Mesa, AZ (Article 6: Form-Based Code)
• Livermore, CA
Or find out about our Form-Based Coding
services
Illustration of the variety of places regulated by Flagstaff’s
Form-Based Code