Senate committee advances S.328 language tying state housing targets to municipal plans; pilot for off-site construction scaled back
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Summary
The Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs committee reviewed Section 1 of S.328 to require municipalities to analyze state-set housing targets and catalog constraints if they cannot meet them, and discussed a pared-down Section 3 pilot for off-site construction; no final legislative vote on S.328 occurred in committee.
The Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs committee on the floor discussed Section 1 of S.328, a provision that would bring state housing targets into municipal plans. Alex Farrell, head of the Department of Housing and Community Development, told the committee the measure "brings the work of the housing targets into the municipal plan" and would "align state, regional, and municipal planning," with regional planning commissions distributing targets to municipalities for local analysis.
Under the section, municipalities would review targets delivered by their regional planning commission and determine whether their current regulatory scheme and infrastructure can accommodate those numbers. Farrell said communities that cannot accommodate assigned targets would be required to "catalog the constraints" — for example, water and wastewater capacity — rather than being forced to change regulations immediately. He described the provision as creating a feedback loop so the department and RPCs can identify what state support is needed to enable local compliance.
Committee members sought clarification on timing. Senator Thomas asked whether the requirement would force a municipality to update a comprehensive plan off its normal cycle; the chair and Farrell clarified that the targets would be incorporated at the municipality's next scheduled comprehensive-plan update, not require an immediate out-of-cycle rewrite.
Farrell also described Section 3, an "off-site construction accelerator," as initially drafted around the possibility of one-time funding for a demonstration project to show how off-site construction could work for a middle-income homeownership product. He said the language has "dramatically changed" given the absence of a plan for a one-time appropriation and that some elements that do not require a full demonstration could advance without the pilot-sized investment.
The committee discussed related provisions and follow-up. Farrell noted tax-credit provisions and brownfields funding sit in the separate economic development bills the committee planned to take up the next day and offered to return to testify on those sections. The discussion did not include a committee vote on S.328 itself; committee members scheduled continued consideration when the related economic development measures are before the committee.
Authorities and budgetary details stated in testimony were limited. The testimony referenced the HOME Act (Act 181) as the statutory framework that established housing targets and the department's role in measuring progress. Farrell gave a December 26 deadline for completion of the regional planning work as the schedule for the regional plans, and he emphasized that infrastructure constraints (water/wastewater) were a likely reason municipalities could not meet targets.
Next steps: staff said the committee will reconvene to consider related economic development and tax-credit provisions when those bills are on the agenda; no formal action on S.328 was taken in this session.
