Witten By: Mike Kriesberg
Last Thursday, our priority bill “An Act to Promote Yes in My Backyard” took a major step forward in the Senate when the Joint Committee on Housing issued a favorable report for an updated Senate-led version of the bill. It has now been sent to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, where it awaits further review.
This movement comes shortly after Senate President Spilka publicly announced that she had tasked Senate Chairman Julian Cyr with putting together a major housing reform package. The bill advanced by the committee is reflective of that directive. While the YIMBY name has been kept, it includes some substantial differences from the original bill first sent to the housing committee. These changes include additional policy reforms tacked on, as well as revisions of the original filing language.
In terms of new reforms, there are three major additions:
- Promoting new homes on faith-owned land: Senate Bill 1430 – An Act to Promote Yes in God’s Backyard, which makes it easier for faith-based institutions to build multi-family housing by-right on land they own, has been added under Section 6 of the new bill. “YIGBY” is another AHMA priority and we are glad that it has been included in this larger bill.
- Establishing Housing Production Plans: Also included in Section 6 is a requirement that each municipality submit a housing production plan to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities every five years that sets forth its strategy to meet its affordable housing needs. The plans must demonstrate that either the current local zoning allows the municipality to meet those needs, or if that is not the case, the plans must include zoning changes that would allow them to do so. On principle, we support cities and towns planning for housing production and aligning their zoning to reflect that.
- Lowering the barrier to Inclusionary Zoning: This reform would allow municipalities to pass inclusionary zoning ordinances by a simple majority vote, rather than the two-thirds majority currently required. While inclusionary zoning can be an useful tool in creating economically diverse communities, it can also hamper housing production or drive up the cost of non income-restricted homes in those developments, so we’re working to better understand the impact of this particular provision.
In addition to these new policies, the new bill revised the parking section of the original filing. While the first version of the bill called for a flat removal of all residential minimum parking requirements, the new bill approved by the committee would remove minimum parking requirements for new residential developments within a half-mile of public transit or for any residential facility primarily serving seniors. It would also limit parking minimums to no more than one space per unit. Even though these updates lessen the flexibility granted to homebuilders in the original bill, they still represent a meaningful improvement over the current state of parking mandates across the state.
As we head into 2026, we are excited that this new bill has been filed and is moving forward. We look forward to working with legislative leaders and coalition partners to strengthen this bill, protect its most impactful reforms, and ensure a strong finish to the 2025-2026 legislative session.