January 26, 2023  

In Depth: Rhode Island Fine Tunes its Housing Appeals Process

The In Depth section on HUD User’s Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse (RBC) takes a closer look at innovative state and local strategies, activities, and plans to mitigate the impacts of regulations on the development of affordable housing. Each In Depth article highlights a particular plan, ordinance, or strategy in the RBC database and elaborates on aspects such as the approval process, stakeholder participation, and the progress made in reducing regulatory barriers.

In 2021, Rhode Island’s legislature convened a special legislative commission to study the state’s 1991 Low and Moderate Income Housing Act (LMIHA), and understand why more communities had not met their LMIHA obligations. Although the act requires local governments to reserve between 10 to 15 percent of their year-round units as affordable housing, very few communities had actually done so. One of the commission’s dozen recommendations called for amending the LMIHA comprehensive permitting process for low- and moderate-income housing. Enacted through House Bill 7949 Substitute A as amended, appeals of local board decisions on comprehensive permits are streamlined to encourage more developers to use this remedy for wrongful decisions.

Visit HUD User’s RBC In Depth page to learn more about House Bill 7949 Substitute A as amended, as well as other plans and initiatives that state and local governments have enacted to reduce impediments to affordable housing.