Some good news for housing advocates and planners alike: Passed in July 2026, the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act is bipartisan housing package that seeks to support homeownership and address the national shortage of affordable homes by lowering housing costs and boosting housing supply.

Importantly, the Act does not preempt local and state zoning, but rather offers funding incentives and resources to assist local governments in making land use decisions that increase housing supply in context-appropriate ways.

Our Housing Working Group has combed through the comprehensive provisions within the package to help our clients make sense of and take advantage of forthcoming changes. Here are our biggest takeaways for planning and zoning:

Implications for CDBG Dollars

The Act requires Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grantees to maintain a publicly accessible, searchable database identifying all parcels of undeveloped land the CDBG owns, effective as of October 1, 2026.

For the first time, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) recipients may direct up to 20% of their annual allocation toward new affordable housing construction, which is a meaningful expansion of eligible activity. The same title, however, also ties CDBG dollars to housing production. Under the Build Now Act provision, HUD will score each entitlement communities on housing growth over a rolling five-year period: communities above the national median become eligible for a bonus of up to 10% of their annual allocation, and communities below it face a reduction of up to 10%. Title II also creates a whole-home repair grant program, a $200 million innovation fund for communities that measurably increase supply, and regional housing planning pilots.

Implications for Zoning Ordinances

The Act directs HUD to publish guidelines and best practices for state and local zoning frameworks within three years, covering topics such as parking minimums, density, accessory dwelling units (ADU), fast-tracked development procedures, and more. McKenna will be watching and waiting for this guidance to inform our clients when it arrives, and we encourage communities to proactively work with their planners and Planning Commissions to begin identifying opportunities to promote housing readiness.

Future Potential Implications for Building Codes

In conventional multi-story dwellings, multiple staircases are constructed throughout the building, resulting in a network of access points on different floors. In contrast, the single-stair or point-access multi-unit dwellings consolidate all staircases into a centralized location. When it comes to increasing housing supply and affordability, this design feature makes a difference in increasing density as it helps to maximize the useable square footage. However, many state building codes offer provisions that limit this type of development.

The 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act directs HUD to develop federal guidelines for permitting point-access multi-unit dwellings up to six stories, and to offer model code language and best practices for communities and states to incorporate guidelines into their own codes. In most cases, state action will be required to update building codes to align with these new guidelines, before point-access buildings will be permitted within a community. In the meantime, communities can begin having conversations across their Building, Planning, Zoning, and Fire Departments to explore these developments and plan for their potential arrival.

What Your Community Can Do Right Now

As of now, most of the Act’s new programs are authorized but not yet funded, and will require action in a future appropriations bill. HUD must also complete rulemaking on at least 35 new programs, regulations, and studies; for these reasons, we don’t anticipate funding to be available for these programs until at least 2028.

In the meantime, communities that align their plans and ordinances with the Act’s federal direction — on infill development, “missing middle” housing, ADUs, parking reductions, and manufactured housing — will be better positioned to apply for grants and funding when it arrives, and to protect the funding they already receive. This is especially important for entitlement communities, as CBDG dollars are on the line; these communities can increase and/or avoid a reduction in CDBG funding if they proactively revise their plans and policies to reduce barriers to housing construction.

As we await funding appropriation, communities can begin to demonstrate their own commitment to increasing housing supply and access in the following ways:

Gather Housing and Development Data

• Create a publicly accessible, searchable database identifying all parcels of undeveloped land the owned by your jurisdiction (e.g., City- or Township-owned land).
• Conduct a baseline Housing Needs Assessment or develop a Housing Plan.
• Create workflows for tracking and communicating new housing development, using metrics such as residential building permits pulled or new units constructed.
• Identify common sense opportunities for both affordable housing development and incremental density that align with community character and offer adequate utility capacity.

Complete a Zoning Audit for Housing Readiness

• Evaluate use and development standards for hindrances to both “missing middle” and multi-unit housing development.
• Evaluate development procedures for processes that slow down multi-unit housing development, such as lengthy review periods or cumbersome permitting processes.

Review and Update your Master Plan

• Take the opportunity to ensure that your community’s Master Plan includes Housing Analyses and dedicated housing goals, objectives, and action items, which can help to establish the policy foundation for subsequent zoning amendments and demonstrate that the community has evaluated its housing needs and identified strategies to address them. (In Michigan, this is required by State Law, and it should be considered a best practice across the Midwest.)

And for every housing readiness step that communities take, be sure to document it (and any outcomes) for future grant applications.

With our long history of crafting Zoning Ordinances, Master Plans, Consolidated Plans, and Housing Studies, and our day-to-day work guiding developers through the development process, McKenna is prepared to help our clients navigate this new legislative landscape and the opportunities afforded by it. Reach out to us to start getting ready.