Months ago, Lawrence city commissioners approved an increase to the number of adults who can live in a home in most areas of town. With two weeks left before the change is set to take effect, some neighborhoods are pushing back. The city’s new land development code was created over a two-plus-year process, with a 14-member steering committee and several public meetings. Yet when commissioners approved the code in November, many community members said they felt the process had moved too quickly. The code aims, among other things, to improve affordability and availability of housing. One way the code intends to do that is by increasing the occupancy limit in some neighborhoods from three to five unrelated people who can live in a home together. Some neighborhood groups are saying the code change will have the opposite effect, and they’re asking the commission to keep the cutoff at three. Others in the community say that lower occupancy limits are rooted in classism and racism, and that they hurt people’s chances of affording housing and prospering.
Source: The Lawrence Times
