15,000 new homes must be built over five years to fix housing shortage in R.I., according to a new state plan
The new housing goal is ambitious, but is expected to face an uphill battle. High
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'When housing development does not meet demand... It puts a roadblock in what we call the road to prosperity,' said McKee in a State House event that announced the release of the plan. 'That needs to change.'
But McKee's plan falls short of what advocates and researchers have claimed Rhode Island needs to truly close the affordability gap, which would require the construction of
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Across the state and all income levels, about one-third of households are cost-burdened already, which means they are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing-related expenses alone. Homelessness is
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The 15,000 figure was developed by McKee's new Department of Housing, an advisory committee of developers and nonprofit leaders, and state-funded consultants as part of a comprehensive state housing plan that's been at least two years in the works.
The first comprehensive housing plan for Rhode Island since 2006 outlines how many units the state wants to add in each municipality, and requires that each municipality meet two annual production goals that include the total number of units, and the production of affordable homes. The units include affordable rental homes, middle-market housing, and homeownership opportunities.
For instance, the state's report says by 2030, Warren needs to add 110 units of housing, Narragansett needs to add 197, and Barrington 128 units.
Larger cities have loftier goals: Providence will need to add 3,010 more units, Pawtucket 1,353 more units, and Cranston 1,367 units.
The plan 'is very bold,' said Senator Jacob Bissaillon, who chairs the Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee.
Yet the plan does not lay out a strategy to hold municipalities accountable. For the last 30 years, the Low and Moderate Income Housing Act has called for a minimum of 10 percent of the
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Municipalities will be expected to explain shortfalls, and the state will 'explore incentives' to reward progress. These incentives could include preferences for state infrastructure funding programs and other state grants.
If the state was to hit the McKee administration's targets, it would ease pressure on the market, but these new goals won't solve the housing crisis altogether.
Instead, the report laid out potential areas of reform, which include
Local zoning rules currently present barriers to middle-market housing production: 87 percent of Rhode Island is zoned only
for single-family homes by right,
The plan breaks down McKee's goals to reach 15,000 units, which include: permitting 1,000 new homeownership units priced below $400,000 each, permitting 525 ADUs (which would triple recent production), and doubling the state's permitting of other types of middle-market homes by 2030.
The plan also factored in financing production of 2,250 affordable rental homes — the most significant demand in Rhode Island, along with other parts of New England. The plan says the state would finance 375 permanent supportive housing units and 500 units affordable to people with extremely low incomes.
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'I hear 'my kids, my grandkids, cannot afford to live in Rhode Island,'' said Goddard, who became secretary in 2024 when this housing plan was already in the works. 'How did we get here? Some of this is not new... We have not built enough. Simple as that.'
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at
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