O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
As I prepared to move to Manchester to teach economics at Saint Anselm College, I was unaware of the extent of New Hampshire’s housing shortage. Despite having a job with a solid income, securing an apartment felt like winning a lottery. My husband and I scrambled to put down a deposit on a place within minutes of being notified and still, we lost out. Eventually, we got lucky. But that luck, and the ability to buy a condo later, was a privilege many don’t have.
Today, the state is short an estimated 23,500 housing units. As a direct result, half of all renters in the state are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. This isn’t just a housing issue – it’s an economic development issue, a workforce retention issue, and a growing equity issue. It’s a problem driven, in large part, by our own public policy.
As an economist, I’m used to thinking about how regulations shape markets. Across the country, local zoning laws are constraining housing supply – driving up prices and excluding workers, families, and young people from our communities. New Hampshire’s zoning laws are particularly burdensome.
According to the Wharton Residential Land Use Regulation Index, the state ranks fourth nationwide with respect to the stringency of local land use codes. We need to stop treating zoning reform like a niche concern for developers or city planners. If you care about affordability, homelessness, economic growth, segregation, or climate change, you should care about zoning.
Last year, I attended a public meeting on Manchester’s zoning ordinance rewrite and left frustrated. The process, while well-intentioned, leaned heavily toward compromise with those resistant to change – often homeowners who benefit from low housing supply and high property values. That’s not an accusation of malice – it’s a fundamental economic principle that people respond to incentives. But when we prioritize the short-term preferences of a few over long-term societal needs, we all lose.
One of the most misunderstood issues in this debate is parking. Minimum parking requirements – rules that force developers to include a set amount of parking – drive up the cost of housing. To be clear, paved parking isn’t free. In fact, it can add up to 17% to the cost of rent, even for tenants who don’t own cars. That’s a silent tax on low-income renters and a policy failure we continue to tolerate. Worse still, parking mandates reduce the number of homes that can be built on a lot, making many projects financially unworkable from the start.
We’ve seen better approaches. Minneapolis eliminated single-family zoning and allowed triplexes on all residential lots. They dropped minimum parking requirements and lifted height restrictions in many neighborhoods. As a result, rents stabilized, homelessness declined, and the housing stock grew. Why not Manchester?
Zoning reform isn’t about “luxury apartments” versus affordable housing. It’s about housing attainability. A recent study found that a 1% increase in new housing reduces nearby rents by 0.19%. We need more of all types of housing to create affordability across the board. Criticizing developers for not building enough “cheap” units ignores the economics: every new home built, regardless of its price, relieves pressure on the market.
Manchester has a chance to embrace smart, inclusive, pro-growth policy. We should:
- Allow more homes to be built in all neighborhoods.
- Remove parking minimums.
- Allow greater building height and density across the city.
These aren’t radical changes. They’re necessary ones.
New Hampshire prides itself on pragmatism and independence. But clinging to outdated zoning laws is neither practical nor forward-thinking. If we want thriving communities where our children can live, our businesses can grow, and our neighbors can stay housed, we have to change how, and where, we allow homes to be built.
Stephanie Coffey is an economics professor at Saint Anselm College and a resident of Manchester, NH
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