Delays and uncertainty in the approval of proposed housing developments decrease total production. The resulting increased costs are passed to the consumer. Even as state and local governments pursue land use reforms, many projects are stuck in procedural swamps.
Because the permitting bottlenecks in each state differ, the Mercatus Center has begun publishing a series of Policy Briefs on state-specific reforms. For each, we’ve partnered with a local land use expert to conduct dozens of interviews with developers, lawyers, government officials, and scholars from different geographic areas of the state.
The resulting suggestions provide a roadmap for policymakers anxious to increase the supply of housing. By reducing uncertainty and removing roadblocks in the permitting process, policymakers can provide more housing opportunities in their communities.