Kentucky has some big and complicated problems, and housing is near the top.
There’s not enough of it in cities or rural areas, especially not affordable or accessibly priced housing. Tornadoes, floods, supply and cost have made it even worse. One study just showed that Lexington is one of the 10 most difficult cities for young people to buy homes.
Overall, Kentucky is short 89,000 units of affordable housing statewide, according to the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky.
So, one legislator has grabbed onto an idea that is slowly taking hold in some other states: Just blow up all the rules and start over.
That is to say, let’s get rid of the planning and zoning rules that make housing too expensive and exclusionary. House Bill 102 would get rid of rules that prevent people from putting tiny houses and accessory dwelling units in their back yards, erase parking minimums, allow duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes in single-family home neighborhoods, and limit fees and hearings required on new construction.