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Land Use

What is Middle Housing?

Its not the solution that planners are saying and it's not good for your neighborhood. Let's start with how Middle Housing is being presented to the public. We call it the "MIDDLE HOUSING HUSTLE™"

MIDDLE HOUSING HUSTLE™

How a known rental product was rebranded, deregulated, and pushed into neighborhoods

 

THE FIRST STEP

Planners knew they couldn’t change the product — so it had to be what they called it.

Goal was to try and change public perception without changing the underlying housing type.

  • Almost all long-recognized multi-family rental styles were rebranded as “middle housing”
  • The new label implied affordability and ownership
  • In practice, these buildings function as rentals

Click on the next slide for the 2nd Step

Rebranding
Zoning

The Second Step

Once rebranded, neighborhood zoning protections had to go!

 

Buildings that would never fit into these smaller lots were suddenly permitted.

  • Single-family zoning was designed to limit building size and intensity
  • State-level changes to law removed long-standing protections.
  • Multi-unit rental buildings became legal on small residential lots.

Click on the next slide for the 3rd Step

 

THE THIRD STEP

Density could not scale without eliminating parking requirements.

More residents, more cars, and fewer safety margins—by design.

  • Larger buildings require space planners couldn’t legally provide
  • Parking minimums were removed to maximize buildable area
  • Units now rely on already-crowded public streets
Parking

THE BREAKDOWN

MIDDLE HOUSING is not about affordability

This is not a “new” form of housing or a solution to affordability. Its about rentals, density , and MORE revenue for the city.

 

Rebranding REBRANDING

Middle Housing isn’t new. It’s a rebrand of existing multifamily housing—marketed to sound modest while enabling much higher density.

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Zoning ZONING CHANGES

Single-family zoning is replaced with blanket density increases—without guarantees of affordability or ownership.

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Parking REMOVE PARKING

Parking requirements are eliminated to maximize unit count—not to improve affordability or safety.

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Styles STYLES

Design standards allow buildings to look like homes—while functioning as high-density rentals.

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Permitting PERMITTING

Faster approvals and fee structures favor volume—while increasing revenue for cities.

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Misinformatin MISINFORMATION

Affordability claims rely on assumptions—not enforceable outcomes.

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