Introduction
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Department of State’s Smart Growth Newsletter. Each newsletter, created by our Office of Planning, Development and Community Infrastructure, will explore policies, strategies and projects that advance Smart Growth planning, as well as explore the next steps, tools and resources communities can use as they integrate Smart Growth principles into local planning and development.
If you want to learn more about Smart Growth or share ideas with us about work your community is doing, please send us an email at [email protected]!
Missing Middle Housing
The phrase missing middle housing was first coined by architect Daniel Parolek to describe a range of housing types that fall between two sides of a scale: single family homes and large apartment buildings. After World War II, zoning and development patterns increasingly favored these two ends of the spectrum, leaving out smaller-scale housing options that once served diverse community needs. These middle housing types – such as duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and courtyard apartments – are now missing from many neighborhoods.
Missing Middle Housing concept created by Daniel Parolek/Image ©Opticos Design, Inc./For more info visit www.missingmiddlehousing.com
Many New York communities are experiencing population decline, smaller household sizes, and an increase in single-person households. At the same time, housing costs continue to rise, contributing to affordability issues. These trends signify that our communities and housing needs are changing, and addressing the missing middle housing issue can help meet those needs by:
Increasing options for diverse households, such as young people, families and seniors, expanding affordability and availability by offering smaller-scale options appropriate for a household’s needs.
Strengthening neighborhoods by supporting walkability, fostering a sense of community and providing density needed to sustain local businesses.
Contributing to community character through good design while making better use of existing infrastructure and improving municipal finances.
How Do We Get There?
Evaluate and update zoning codes: Many local zoning codes that allow diverse housing types may restrict the development of ‘missing middle housing’ allowed by right, meaning there may be special procedures and approvals needed before the housing can be built adding to the cost and time while creating uncertain conditions for investment. Reviewing uses allowed by right and broadening permitted residential structures to include duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, and other housing types throughout your community will help enable such homes. Additionally, updating regulations like setbacks or lot sizes could allow for missing middle housing to be constructed through more efficient use of land. Allowing homeowners to add accessory dwelling units (ADUs) – such as a small apartment above a garage, or a backyard cottage – is another way to add housing units and provide affordability. This can be complemented by clear zoning code and resources that help smaller developers understand and navigate regulations, removing a barrier to investment for missing middle housing.
Reform parking requirements: Parking consumes additional land and increases costs for both building and maintaining housing. Reducing or removing minimum parking requirements, especially in walkable neighborhoods or areas with transit access helps use land efficiently and reduces costs.
Consider design and form: Communities can adopt design standards that guide building scale, placement, and appearance to complement and enhance neighborhood character. Another tool is form-based code, which focuses on building form while typically allowing flexibility in permitted uses. Missing middle housing can complement existing neighborhoods, even when the existing housing is mostly single-family homes.
Missing Middle Housing in Action: The City of Kingston
City of Kingston/Natalie Boverman
The City of Kingston has put several Smart Growth strategies into practice. In 2023, the City updated its zoning ordinance to address local growth pressures, reduce administrative burdens and add flexibility to facilitate smaller scale, incremental housing growth, while preserving and enhancing community character. This rewrite intentionally seeks to increase housing affordability, availability and diversity.
The revised code includes specific changes that will encourage missing middle housing. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have been allowed citywide. Paired with these zoning changes, the City held an Accessory Dwelling Unit Design Competition to encourage the development of ADUs in a way that would be complementary of existing neighborhoods. The designs were created with zoning regulations in mind, and the winning design is available as a preapproved set of construction drawings that owners can utilize to build their own ADUs.
Beyond ADUs, the new code allows for multifamily developments, such as duplexes, cottage courts, rowhouses and mixed-use buildings to be developed in the majority of Kingston’s residential areas. Kingston has also eliminated parking minimums to give developers and owners the flexibility to build only the parking they need and use their space effectively.
First Steps
Review your comprehensive plan. Does it discuss housing affordability and availability? Does it identify areas in your community where missing middle housing could be located?
If your comprehensive plan addresses housing in this way, do your local policies and laws, like zoning, allow for and encourage missing middle housing? For example, are diverse housing types permitted as of right in most districts?
If your plan does not address housing, an update may be required that assesses housing conditions and engages the community. A good place to start is to hold a community walking tour to examine on-the-ground housing conditions and opportunities.
You can also learn more by visiting the links below:
AARP Introductory Guide on Discovering and Developing Missing Middle Housing: https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/housing/info-2022/missing-middle-housing.html
AARP Expanding Middle Housing Options: A Guide to Local Middle Housing Regulations and Model Laws: https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/housing/info-2024/middle-housing-policy.html
Missing Middle Housing: https://missingmiddlehousing.com/
Cultivating Pollinators Throughout Your Community
Adding or enhancing green spaces in a neighborhood, whether in a downtown core, residential area or commercial district, can have substantial benefits for the community, including creating inviting public spaces, beautifying streets, cooling communities through shade and heat absorption, managing stormwater by capturing and filtering rainfall, and providing habitats for pollinators like bees and butterflies, among others. Pollinator gardens and pathways are one type of green space that can be implemented at various scales and in diverse locations, delivering many of the benefits associated with green spaces.
A pollinator garden is planted with native flowers and plants that provide food and habitat for pollinators, such as bees, birds and butterflies. A pollinator pathway is a series of these gardens located near one another in developed areas.
Starting and Sustaining a Pollinator Pathway: Nyack Pollinator Pathway
The Nyack Pollinator Pathway, an all-volunteer community project that began in 2019, originated from the founders’ growing awareness of the limited food options available to honeybees, which then expanded into an interest in native plants and other pollinators. Dana Harkrider, one of the cofounders of the Nyack Pollinator Pathway, shared what they learned when they started the Pathway, as well as their best practices for implementing and maintaining pollinator gardens.
Best practices for starting a pollinator pathway:
Start small so you can assess the level of maintenance the gardens will require over time. While most of the maintenance occurs during the first year as the gardens become established, gardens will need to be watered and maintained in the medium and long term.
Make a visible impact with the initial gardens. The first gardens serve as an audition to the community, and the success of these gardens can help build public support to ensure long-term success. However, the sites should be areas where native plants can grow, as they will self-seed and spread over time.
Be mindful of how people use potential garden spaces, particularly if they’re along walking paths where plants may get trampled. Determine if the gardens are in the right locations or identify interventions, such as garden fencing to highlight that people should be cautious in these areas. However, such garden protections should not create barriers to people enjoying the gardens.
Research the right plants and figure out the preparation steps for implementing an individual garden. There are a variety of native plants suitable for different soil types, sun or shade conditions, and other environmental factors.
Pair the gardens with education. The Nyack Pollinator Pathway hosts a website that features their projects, resources on pollinator gardens, and a map of pollinator gardens throughout the community. At each of the Pathway’s gardens is a sign with the website name and a QR code that takes people to the website. There are plans to add signs with individual QR codes that direct people to a webpage listing the plants at that specific garden, along with maintenance instructions for volunteers.
Ways to Sustain Implementation
Funding: The nonprofit Nyack Pollinator Pathway primarily relies on private donations and grants to grow the network of gardens. The Pathway started with private donations and have expanded their resources to include grants from the local utility (Orange and Rockland).
Volunteer Days: Throughout the year, the Pathway, with a mailing list of over 300 people, holds volunteer days for people and local groups, like the Girl Scouts, to come out and plant new gardens or maintain the existing ones.
Education: The Pathway regularly makes presentations to local groups and attends events to promote and educate people about pollinator gardens. When possible, they’ve also provided advice to homeowners who are looking to implement gardens.
Partnerships: The Pathway has worked with the Village of Nyack from the beginning with the Village providing spaces and plants for the initial gardens. As a sustaining partner, the Village’s Department of Public Works also regularly waters all the public garden beds. The Pathway also collaborates with local businesses to establish new gardens with the expectation that private property owners will primarily be responsible for ongoing maintenance. Residents also contribute to the Pathway effort by planting their own gardens, which may be eligible for the Pathway’s unique designations: Pollinator Pit Stop, Pollinator B&B or Pollinator 5-Star Hotel!
Learn More about Pollinator Gardens and Pathways
Below are a few resources on pollinator gardens, but there are hundreds more online.
Pollinator pathway: https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/
Pollinator support: https://yates.cce.cornell.edu/gardening/pollinator-support
Selecting plants for pollinators: https://www.pollinator.org/PDFs/EasternBroadleaf.Oceanic.rx18.pdf
How to build a pollinator garden: https://www.fws.gov/story/how-build-pollinator-garden
Gardening for pollinators: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/wildflowers/pollinators/gardening
Pollinator conservation: https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation
Pollinator gardens design guide: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/PollinatorGardens.pdf
Contact Us
Do you need help determining where to start with Smart Growth planning in your community?
Are there Smart Growth practices your community is employing related to housing, green space, infill development, or others that you want to share with other communities?
Please send us an email at [email protected]!