The Delaware State Housing Authority is accepting applications for a new program offering free technical assistance to local governments as they modernize zoning and land-use policies with the goal of increasing the supply of affordable housing. The deadline is Friday, Oct. 31.

The Zoning and Land Use Reform Pilot Program was created through the passage of Senate Joint Resolution 8 in late August. It will offer technical assistance to municipalities interested in modernizing their zoning and land-use codes, with the goals of encouraging a greater variety of housing types, promoting compact, mixed-use development, and addressing housing affordability challenges.

“We are excited to support local jurisdictions that want to partner with us to create smarter communities, lower housing costs and better serve Delawareans,” said DSHA Director Matthew Heckles. “The technical assistance pilot program has big potential to address the housing supply crisis. We need a variety of housing that serves working families in Delaware. By participating with us, jurisdictions get the help they need to improve their zoning laws in a way that makes their communities thrive.”

Participation in the pilot is voluntary, and local governments, working directly with a technical assistance provider, will be able to select reforms they choose to pursue from a menu. Available options for consideration include permitting accessory dwelling units and “missing middle” housing in residential zones; permitting manufactured/modular homes in single-family residential zones; creating pre-reviewed design plans or “pattern books”; reducing lot sizes and bulk standards to achieve greater density; allowing taller multifamily and mixed-use developments; permitting higher-density, mixed-use developments in commercial areas; and establishing an inclusionary zoning program for affordable/workforce housing.

This pilot program provides an opportunity for local governments to tackle this difficult and time-consuming task with assistance from someone well-versed in the field who can provide the working knowledge to make changes. Participating municipalities must commit to assigning a dedicated staff person to work with the technical assistance provider, selecting one or more reform ideas from the options menu, attending mandatory workshops and meetings, and pledging to pursue their selected reforms.

Learn more at destatehousing.com/about/planning-assistance or contact Alexander Modeas, policy and planning director, at Alexander.Modeas@delaware.gov.

Another new DSHA initiative, the Disaster Housing Pilot Program, implemented in partnership with the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration, will provide technical assistance to three Delaware jurisdictions that adopt pre-disaster actions to streamline their housing recovery process. The deadline to apply was Sept. 22.

The program is intended to build post-disaster housing recovery capacities and capabilities, and create replicable best practices that inform future statewide initiatives and strategies.

Using a three-phase approach, participating communities will engage in workshops to assess local hazard risks and internal capacity, draft and adopt pre-disaster recovery ordinances and identify future implementation actions.

Interested jurisdictions must commit to attending a series of workshops and regular check-ins, and to working with the UD IPA to customize a pre-disaster recovery ordinance over a 12-month period.

Municipalities interested more information about the Disaster Housing Pilot Program should contact Vanessa Cullen, emergency management coordinator, at vanessa.cullen@delaware.gov.