House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, right, looks over the House Lounge ahead of a press conference unveiling the chamber’s proposed package of legislation to tackle Rhode Island’s housing crisis. On the phone is Larry Berman, communications director for the House Speaker. Next to Berman is Deputy Director of Communications Emily Martineau. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
After introducing a record 15 housing bills last year to address Rhode Island’s housing shortage, State House lawmakers are taking a more modest approach to encourage new home construction: only a dozen bills.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi unveiled the chamber’s latest legislative package at a State House press conference Thursday afternoon — the very last day state lawmakers could introduce a bill without having to give the chamber advance notice.
“This is the fifth consecutive year that I have announced a package on housing legislation,” Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, said. “We’ve made historic investments, hundreds of millions of dollars, and we’ve made incredible progress — and yet here we are.”
Shekarchi said most Rhode Island families still can’t afford homes — namely because there aren’t enough homes. And existing home prices are out of reach for many. In an October 2024 report from the Rhode Island Department of Housing 41% of renters said they would like to buy a home, but couldn’t. Of those, 75% said they could not find homes in their target price range.
The average home price in Rhode Island last year was $425,000, according to HousingWorksRI. To afford that, a family would need an annual income of $143,687.
The median household income is $74,489, according to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.
So what can the state do to reduce those costs? Encourage more construction, Shekarchi said.
One bill sponsored by Shekarchi would expand electronic permitting to include applications from developers to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
Another bill from the speaker would amend the state’s building code by centralizing duties of the various state officials, commissions and boards related to building and fire code permitting.
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The 12 bill-package also includes legislation from other lawmakers that would make it easier to subdivide oversized lots, allow vacant or unused state-owned land to be developed, and encourage municipalities to convert vacant commercial space into homes.
Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat who chairs the Special Legislative Commission to Affordable Housing, said the package represents “more pieces of the puzzle” in addressing the state’s ongoing housing crisis.
“When we started this work, the puzzle table was an incoherent mess of pieces,” Speakman said. “That picture is starting to take shape; it’s a good picture.”
There is one notable piece keeping the state from completing that puzzle: ensuring each of Rhode Island’s 39 municipalities are on board with the state’s plan.
Shekarchi stressed that each bill is meant only to encourage development, not mandate it.
“Those decisions remain and should be made on a local level,” he said.
Some towns have been more enthusiastic than others. To get those naysayers on board, Shekarchi said there needs to be a shift in attitude about affordable housing — something he said can be achieved by partnering with the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns.
League Director Randy Rossi said the organization would be reviewing each of the bills and supports any proposals that enable municipalities to reform local zoning and land use laws rather than a blanket mandate from the state.
“We recognize that housing is a barrier for Rhode Islanders across the economic spectrum and has an impact on economic development, which is why municipalities have been focused on striking a balance between new development and the needs of existing residents and businesses,” Rossi and East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva, the league’s president, said in a statement.
Should municipalities block development through restrictive ordinances, Shekarchi said it is possible the state could freeze aid to those communities. But the speaker said he does not believe any formal penalties against resistant communities should be established in the near future.
“We’ll just have to take a wait and see attitude and see what happens,” Shekarchi said. “Hopefully they will see the light.”
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