As cities across the U.S. grapple with affordable housing shortages, an increasing number are looking to zoning reform as a solution. Now, the City of Pensacola is following suit.
Sherri Morris, a longtime city planning official, is helping to lead Pensacola's efforts to revise an outdated and unwieldy land development code, or "LDC," with the goal of discouraging the suburban development patterns of the last century.
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“We're trying to hold the line and return to more urban form, which is more pedestrian-friendly, aesthetically pleasing, and isn't so auto-oriented,” Morris said.
The city's first step in this initiative took place earlier this year when Pensacola hired the Orlando-based Inspire Placemaking Collective to assess its land development code and suggest changes. Now, the city is preparing to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select a firm to implement those recommendations.
Understanding the relationship between zoning and affordable housing requires a look at its history, explained Angela Brooks, president of the American Planning Association (APA).
“Zoning really did start as a tool for racism and segregation," she said. "By prescribing single-family zones, which 75% of the United States is currently zoned, you really do limit the type of people who can live in your community."
The APA has made equity in zoning a focal point of its recent policy work. Inspire Placemaking referenced this work in its recommendations for Pensacola, including suggestions like relaxing parking requirements, encouraging the use of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and rethinking single-family zoning. Another suggestion: revisit the concept of shared housing, a model growing in popularity.
One company at the forefront of this shared housing trend is Atlanta-based PadSplit. Founded by real estate developer Atticus LeBlanc, PadSplit transforms single-family homes into modern rooming houses. The company has already housed more than 25,000 people across 18 cities. Pensacola is not yet one of them. However, LeBlanc believes the model could work here.
“The income required to rent the average one-bedroom apartment in Pensacola is $50,000," he pointed out. "Okay, so what do (renters) do? If they don't have the $3,000 to $4,000 in savings to access that apartment, the answer is they pay way too much to rent an extended stay hotel because they can get in.”
LeBlanc argues that zoning reform could enable shared housing models like PadSplit, allowing for more affordable and flexible living arrangements.
“Why on earth would we prevent ourselves from leveraging existing housing that is already available while at the same time we're looking at $200,000, $300,000 in public subsidy to build a new apartment?” he said.
In recent years, zoning reform has unexpectedly gained bipartisan support. The YIMBY (“Yes in My Backyard”) movement, once led primarily by progressive urban planners, has found common ground with conservative lawmakers who view loosening zoning laws as a way to enhance property rights and reduce government intervention. But the cooperation has limits, particularly in suburban areas.
Former President Donald Trump, though inconsistent in his rhetoric around housing policy, has vocally defended single-family zoning, often framing densification efforts as a threat to the suburban American dream—a stance that resonates with those anxious about preserving their neighborhood status-quo.
Joel Kotkin, a prominent urban studies scholar and author, is one of the most outspoken critics of zoning reforms.
“What the YIMBYs are really pushing for, I think, is to go into single-family neighborhoods and destroy them,” Kotkin said. “... Americans are fundamentally villagers. Even in the cities, they were villagers. I mean, when I think about... you know, my grandmother taking me on the Lower East Side and showing me, well, this block was a Jewish block and this block was the Polish block and this block was the Irish block and how these were very, you know, strong communities ... I think Americans have generally liked that.”
For Brooks, Kotkin’s perspective is out of step with the broader goal of building equitable communities.
“Who are you protecting a community for and who are you protecting it from?" she asked. "And what do you think is a good community? Because if you're living in a homogenous community, I would say you don't live in a great community ... A great community is a community that anybody who chooses to live there could afford to live there in a safe community in which they can thrive.”
Morris acknowledged zoning reform can spark conflict and concerns, but she hopes that with careful planning and public input, the city can find a path forward that creates more opportunity for everyone.
“The elected officials that we're dealing with in recent years have been very open to opening the door to uses and people who traditionally would not have had access to some of these areas,” Morris said. “It's always difficult to have those conversations (but) if there's areas of the city that have concern, they will be given every opportunity to weigh in.”
