Rhode Island Targets Housing Supply With Three Reform Bills

Rhode Island could become another state that allows faith-based organizations to build affordable housing on land they own without rezoning.

The bill is gaining traction alongside two others aimed at boosting the Ocean State’s housing supply and creating more affordable options.

Like many states, Rhode Island has grappled with a housing crisis as rents and home prices rise amid too little new supply. Lawmakers opened this year’s session with a sixth package of housing reforms.

In addition to the “yes in God’s backyard” legislation, state lawmakers are considering bills to re-legalize single-room occupancy housing and create a new financing incentive to convert commercial buildings into affordable housing.

All three measures have strong support from most housing advocates across the state. Several spoke in favor of the bills during a long committee hearing Monday night.

Faith-based affordable housing

State Rep. June Speakman, who introduced the Faith-based Affordable Housing Act, cited California as an example of by-right development for such properties. California has been on the leading edge of by-right reform, with lawmakers passing a faith-based law in 2023.

“It’s too soon to determine how well it’s working,” Speakman said, but noted the need to create more housing options.

Her bill would create a statewide framework allowing faith-based organizations to develop affordable and mixed-use housing on land they own. It would also set uniform statewide development standards and curb local barriers such as discretionary denials and restrictive zoning rules. The Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation would oversee compliance and refer violations to the attorney general.

Matt Netto, associate state director for AARP Rhode Island, said in written testimony that older adults are among the people most affected by the state’s housing affordability crisis.

“As housing costs increase, too many older adults are forced to make difficult choices or leave communities where they have lived for decades,” Netto said. “Expanding a wider range of lower-cost housing options is essential to ensuring older Rhode Islanders can remain housed safely and with dignity in the community of their choosing.”

SRO bill changes

Speakman also introduced the “Restoring Options in Occupancy Models Act,” based on a legislative template the Institute for Justice has been urging states to adopt. The bill is being amended after negotiations with stakeholders.

“After some negotiations with stakeholders, we narrowed the bill slightly to apply only to areas zoned for multifamily, commercial or mixed use,” Sam Hooper, legislative counsel with the Institute, told The Builder’s Daily.

The original bill would have allowed SROs in single-family areas, but that provision drew objections from the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns. The revised version also sets a minimum tenancy of 90 days to distinguish SROs from short-term rentals.

At the hearing, housing advocate Kristina Brown said SRO development could help repurpose vacant buildings, including offices, schools and other hard-to-convert properties, into housing.

“It gives the developer, the builder, options on how to reuse that property and bring it online, which we think benefits both residents who are looking for different types of housing options as well as municipalities who want to see these properties put back online,” she said.

Adaptive reuse funding

To encourage converting commercial properties to housing, H 8142 would create a state program and fund to finance adaptive-reuse and mixed-use housing projects. It requires affordable housing units and labor-related conditions, and the bill would pair with labor union pension fund investments.

Speakman, who also introduced this bill, said that, like the other two bills, it would “take advantage of already developed spaces without having to intrude on increasingly scarce vacant land or put increasing pressure on water and sewer resources.”

The only pushback came from Rhode Island Housing’s Amy Rainone. Rainone said her organization supports incentives for adaptive reuse projects, but raised concerns about how they would interact with other incentives, such as low-income housing tax credits. She also said the way the incentives target tenants could “potentially run afoul of some fair housing requirements.”