Can states, and a little bit of faith, convert church land into affordable housing?

"Growing up in a religious family, Florida Republican state Sen. Alexis Calatayud has seen how many church communities are no longer anchored to a single building in the way they used to be. Her small prayer groups take place over chats these days, not necessarily in person or sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in pews. With churches in her Miami-Dade County district grappling with shrinking membership and aging buildings, Calatayud thinks those institutions can do good with their unused land,"

"When you look at someone sitting on a small church, on a 10-acre property with a dwindling congregation, the question becomes, 'How can this entity continue to be the beating heart of the community?' Calatayud said in an interview. 'I think it's to create a village, where we can create more housing and even centralize other needs in the community on that land.'"

"Florida's new law is part of a growing movement known as YIGBY - Yes in God's Backyard. Touted by many faith leaders, lawmakers and developers, the movement imagines a connection between a religious mission to serve and the very real hurdles of building affordable housing. If the U.S. is to meet the nation's demand for new apartments, developers are going to need land, experts say, and parcels owned by faith-based organizations are starting to become a part of the solution for some states."

Many church communities no longer require a single physical building and face shrinking membership and aging properties. Some faith institutions can repurpose unused land to provide multifamily housing and consolidate community services. Florida enacted a measure allowing multifamily residential development on land owned by religious institutions and occupied by houses of worship, requiring at least 10% of new units to be affordable. The policy is part of a YIGBY (Yes in God's Backyard) movement that connects religious missions with affordable housing needs. Faith-owned parcels could unlock thousands of development sites, while some critics worry about reduced local input on neighborhood change.

Read at The Mercury News