REZONING

For nearly a century, zoning laws gave neighborhoods predictability: homes on residential streets, shops and offices in commercial zones, and industrial activity far away from families.

Now, that stability is being erased. Washington State — like Oregon, California, and others — has removed single-family zoning, replacing it with “Middle Housing.” The result? Every single-family neighborhood is suddenly opened to duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes — no matter what it was designed for.

1. A Quick History of Zoning

Early 1900s: Cities used zoning to separate homes from factories and keep neighborhoods livable.
Post-WWII: Single-family zoning helped millions of Americans buy their first homes, build wealth, and raise families in safe, predictable neighborhoods.
Recent Pushback: Activists and planners now call single-family zoning “exclusionary,” reframing it as a problem to be eliminated.
But zoning was never about exclusion — it was about order, infrastructure, and stability.

2. Why States Are Removing Single-Family Zoning

Policymakers now claim:
It’s about affordability (but prices keep climbing).
It’s about equity (but fees and density hit working families hardest).
It’s about climate (but higher density often means more cars crammed into smaller streets).
In reality, rezoning is about density and revenue. Cities collect far more in fees, taxes, and permits when one lot holds four units instead of one.

3. Why Density Doesn’t Fit

Single-family neighborhoods were never built for fourplex density:
Infrastructure: Water, sewer, and roads weren’t designed for 3–4X more households.
Parking: Narrow streets can’t handle overflow.
Schools & Parks: Services already stretched thin won’t expand just because density does.
Safety: Emergency access gets worse as congestion rises.
Instead of affordability, rezoning brings strain, overcrowding, and declining quality of life.

4. The Bigger Picture

What’s happening in Bellingham is part of a national trend. Once one city or state removes single-family zoning, others follow. It’s sold as progress, but in reality it destroys predictability, destabilizes neighborhoods, and shifts control away from local communities.

5. What You Can Do

Learn the History — Don’t let planners rewrite the purpose of zoning.
Question the Narrative — “Density = Affordability” is a myth.
Stay Informed — The Real Issues Podcast breaks down the truth behind rezoning in Washington and beyond.