YIMBYs growing support for reasonable building projects

Wait, what? The acronym stands for “Yes In My Backyard.” YIMBYs are organized, vocal supporters of positive development in their communities, such as affordable diverse housing and commercial projects to meet local needs. New groups that publicly stand up and be counted to support urgently needed housing development are organizing all over the country, from Massachusetts to California. They have come together to prove to local elected officials that there is an important local constituency that actively supports fair consideration of projects that can meet urgent community needs and to voice support for those projects in local permitting decisions.

YIMBY groups operate in stark contrast to NIMBYs, which is an acronym for “Not In My Backyard.” That term describes folks who aggressively oppose specific projects that embody values they might otherwise support, such as housing that’s affordable to working families or establishing a new home for a community health clinic. These folks are often the loudest voices in the room when decisions about new projects are made. They can (and often do) overpower projects by circulating petitions, packing public hearings or filing spurious appeals that delay construction for months or years, sometimes resulting in property owners just giving up altogether on permitted projects. This dynamic defeats worthy projects that have demonstrated their compliance with all local standards, earned their permits and financing, and would satisfy important community needs.

Charlotte has long been a place where NIMBYs often get their way. Many otherwise reasonable building projects (for example, just adding two single-family homes on a large farm) have been defeated here by nay-sayers whose primary motivation seems to be that they cannot abide seeing a new home going up within the line of sight from their kitchen window, even if that house is 100 yards away and allowed under zoning rules.

This makes one wonder: Where are the voices on the other side? Where do you go if you care about our regional housing crisis and want to see this community do more to encourage and build housing that’s accessible to families who don’t happen to have at least $686,000 (the average cost of a Charlotte home these days) stuffed under their mattress or an income of at least $240,000 a year to afford that kind of mortgage?

Once upon a time, Charlotte had an active affordable housing committee that advocated to create our affordable housing trust fund (that still exists). That committee has long since disbanded. Today, there is no group in town that speaks up for expanding housing options other than large market-rate, single-unit dwellings. In fact, it’s been over a decade since any new affordable housing units have been built in Charlotte.

The truth is: Charlotte has changed and is changing. The large dairy farms that dominated the rural landscape for generations with a few widely scattered farmhouses are gone forever. Farms and farming are still important, but the town is now home to nearly 4,000 souls. Sixty-seven percent of all residents in the workforce commute elsewhere to earn their living. The median age of Charlotte residents is 50 years — the oldest in Chittenden County. Ninety-four percent of all new homes built since 2000 are located in the rural part of town, eating up our landscape in 2-acre and 5-acre bites. Our long-held vision of our two historic villages as vibrant community centers have been defeated by zoning rules that discourage (or preclude) building homes that can meet the needs of working young families, elders and others who simply can’t afford current housing costs here.

As our community evolves, let’s plan thoughtfully and accordingly. This includes modifying zoning bylaws to allow infill housing and businesses in the village centers, the heart and soul of the town, instead of encouraging development out in our rural open spaces. We can’t stop people from moving in or out of Charlotte. But when that does happen, let’s do it right. Multi-family homes in the village centers does NOT mean we would allow six-story modern apartment buildings or new suburban-style homes in neat rows. Instead, we could enable increased “gentle density” of smaller duplexes, triplexes and apartments that would fit with the architectural style of historic Charlotte homes and can accommodate a socio-economically diverse array of residents.

That’s where YIMBYs come in. We need caring community members to step up and organize to counteract the corrosive negativity of vocal NIMBYs. YIMBYs understand Charlotte needs to allow and encourage diverse housing to be built with options for young working families, elders, farm workers and others priced out of the current market. They want to encourage and allow new housing where our Town Plan says it belongs (in our villages), keeping our rural spaces open. Charlotte YIMBYs would support housing development that is diverse and affordable, like carefully planned and attractive multi-family housing in our historic villages, instead of more “McMansions” that have relentlessly gobbled up our farmlands and forests.

Charlotte is growing. Let’s do so in a way that protects the beauty of our rural landscapes with positivity and an eye towards the future. Say yes to YIMBYs!

Curious to learn more? Check out this example of other New England YIMBYs.

(Larry Lewack retired Dec. 1 as Charlotte Town Planner.)