The Wisconsin Assembly voted largely along party lines this week in support of a crucial housing bill, AB453, that will rein in NIMBYism — the “not in my back yard” outcry that greets developers trying to increase housing supply in communities where elected officials want the same thing.
Just one of several housing bills considered this week, the legislation authored by Rep. David Armstrong (R-Rice Lake) essentially states that a local government must approve rezoning requests when they are in accord with the comprehensive plan that the community already has drawn up.
It in no way reduces local control or forces local governments to accept development densities they haven’t already approved during the planning process.
The Badger Institute, which recently published a 60-page report on housing issues in the state, supports the bill, and Institute President Mike Nichols testified on it in committee.
Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona) spoke against the bill on the Assembly floor, lamenting the fact it is unfunded.
“If there was money for AB453, I would be the first one to cosponsor and say this is good policy, this is what we should do,” he said, adding he thinks it sets communities up for failure if there is no money attached.
Armstrong countered that “there is plenty of time for this before it takes effect, in fact a little over two years,” and he said he would “work across the aisle with (Bare) in the next budget to make sure there is money put in for the planning.”
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