California Land Shortages: A Q&A with Harmony Communities President Matthew Davies

President and Founder of Harmony Communities, Matthew Davies has made it his personal and professional mission to curate attractive, affordable manufactured housing communities in California and Oregon. Matthew’s vision for Harmony consists of well-tended, sustainable, modern homes that are safe and affordable for West Coast families.

One undeniable obstacle, however, is the pervasive shortage of available land in California – a State that is home to thousands of Harmony Communities residents. Although Harmony has tackled this issue head-on, the shortage remains a statewide concern. Here, Matthew shares more about the California land shortages, from what caused them, to potential solutions.

Q: Why is there a land shortage in California?

There really is no “land shortage” – California has incredible amounts of land. The reason there are so few options for new housing developments is that the land we have is not appropriately zoned. When not enough land is appropriately zoned for residential communities, families naturally find their housing choices limited. Not to mention, with the rise of ADUs (auxiliary dwelling units), tiny homes, and micro-homes, there is an increasing need to appropriately zone non-residential areas to house these models. So far, few municipalities have caught on. People say they want more affordable housing options, but at the same time, they don’t want them popping up next door to them. As a state, we collectively exhibit “Not In My Backyard” Syndrome, which makes it very difficult to improve residential zoning issues at the local level.

Q: What populations does the land shortage primarily impact?

When there is a dire need for ten houses but only nine are built, everyone, in effect, will be paying much more for their own properties. The shortage trickles down and affects every class, from the wealthier citizens to the middle and lower-middle classes. In that sense, the shortages don’t affect just one population: they affect everyone, across the board.

Q: Why do you think this problem is markedly worse in California than in other states?

Our State’s population is very focused on being “green” – which is great – but we let our “green” policies stand in the way of creating policies that benefit the population as a whole. We don’t have enough water because we can’t build the reservoirs. We have the most unreliable power grid in the nation but the highest electricity costs. And most concerningly, we try to solve every problem with more regulation, but in many cases, more regulation just strangles progress. I think that tamping down some of the top-level regulation and allowing private businesses, nonprofits, and advocacy groups take the reins would be a healthy step in the right direction.

Q: How does the sheer lack of appropriately zoned land exacerbate the State’s affordable housing problems?

In short, it creates an artificial land scarcity. Ours is one of the largest states in the nation, but we might as well be Manhattan when it comes to land availability. While we have millions of undeveloped acres (104 million, to be exact), few to none of them are zoned residential. With a population of 40 million, we should have about 2.5 acres per person – and yet thousands are homeless.

Q: What are some solutions to the shortage and zoning issues? Could the rise of tiny homes represent a permanent shift in the availability of affordable housing for Californians?

The solution is more permissive zoning, less red tape, and greater densities. By greater densities, I mean utilizing tiny homes. If you build a regular subdivision with site-built, single-family homes, you would consumer about an acre per 4-5 homes. On the other hand, if you’re building a community of tiny homes, you can install up to 25 or even 30 residences per acre. So, yes, I do believe that tiny homes can substantially assuage some of our shortage issues.

Another solution is to go vertical. By constructing more high-rises that can accommodate families, we could fit about 100 units in an acre. If we average three people per unit, that is up to 300 people per acre.

I think that to increase our affordable housing options, we will need to get creative with how we use our available – and properly zoned – land to accommodate as many people as possible.

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At Harmony Communities, we feel strongly that each resident has a sense of home. That they come home from work and feel pride in their environment and in their place in the greater community. That families are comfortable raising children in our neighborhoods, and that couples and singles know that they belong to something bigger than their four walls. In other words, we seek to create harmony within each community, making our communities not just passable, but peaceful, safe, functional, and beautiful.