Housing opportunities, especially of the attainable/affordable variety, are at the top of the list of just about every local, state and national constituency. Hundreds of agencies and nonprofits are wrestling with how to create diverse housing types that meet a broad range of needs.
Ohio REALTORS®, in partnership with the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), addressed the concern with concrete action. The result is a free toolkit packed with both time-tested and innovative implementation tools.
Housing Ohio Tools for Development is a 48-page document that uses plain language to share solutions such as preapproved plans, zoning adjustments, land-bank partnerships and small-builder feasibility. Veronica Cardello, assistant vice president of external engagement for Ohio REALTORS®, said the toolkit idea started in 2023 when Ohio communities were facing many different housing issues. Cardello worked with Alison Goebel, the executive director of the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), to do a scan of needs. Visualization tools and smart growth grants helped to create a report.
Cardello and Goebel reached out and saw that many communities were experiencing roadblocks to new housing. Cardello said that, with a housing crisis in Ohio, it wasn’t difficult to bring together builders, nonprofit housing developers, elected officials, zoning administrators, land bank directors and other community stakeholders.
Ohio Needed a Housing Playbook, but Didn’t Have It
“The township association, county commissioner association and land bank association were all experiencing this. So, we wrote a playbook,” Cardello said. “We found that simple things, like reducing the minimum parking requirements or lot line boundaries could make a difference.”
The toolkit research committee worked with expert consultants Pattern Zones Company, Neighborhood Workshop and MBL Planning for technical guidance. In March 2025, the toolkit went public at housingoh.org/download-the-guidebook.
It includes:
- “Actionable recommendations for zoning code adjustments that eliminate barriers to infill housing and encourage new development. These changes are simple enough to be implemented by city staff without requiring outside consultants.”
- “Two free predesigned building plans (a single-family home and a duplex) with multiple variations. These plans help reduce soft costs, such as architectural fees, and can be incorporated into preapproved plans programs to streamline permitting.”
- “A roadmap for local governments to establish a preapproved plans program, enabling expedited permitting and lowering development barriers in their communities.”
Partnerships Born of Community Engagement
“Addressing Ohio’s housing challenges requires collaboration,” said Mic Gordon, president of Ohio REALTORS®. “REALTORS® see firsthand how housing availability affects families, communities and local economies. Housing Ohio is about bringing people together around practical solutions and giving local leaders tools they can adapt to create more housing opportunities in their communities.”
In little more than 18 months, there have been more than 1,000 downloads of the sample housing plans, and more than 100 Ohio communities are working on zoning changes highlighted in the toolkit to reduce barriers to housing development.
The toolkit also highlights an opportunity already present in many Ohio communities. Over the past two decades, the demolition of abandoned residential buildings has left vacant parcels in established neighborhoods, many of which are now held by county and city land banks and may be available at below-market prices.
When cities make it easier to build — by relaxing often antiquated, overly stringent zoning rules and creating programs with preapproved building types — they encourage small-scale, local developers to invest in filling in vacant lots.
A Housing Toolkit That Is Effective, Scalable and Exportable
“One community went from a three-month review time to 15 minutes,” Cardello said. “Cincinnati and Toledo received HUD funding to implement the programming.”
“Another win is that the toolkit doesn’t focus on greenfields. Ohio communities have thousands of vacant parcels in existing neighborhoods where roads, utilities and other infrastructure are already in place — including 2,000 vacant parcels ready in Lima alone,” Cardello said.
The toolkit is intentionally scalable, with small, medium and large communities adapting its recommendations to meet local needs. Cardello noted that its flexible approach also makes the model exportable and that federal funding through the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act could further support many of the strategies outlined in the toolkit.
Cardello cited Lima, Ohio — a city that has lost one-third of its population since 1970 — as a great example of a municipality that has moved at near-lightning speed to turn the Ohio toolkit into housing starts in northwest Ohio.
Build-Ready Plus Incentives to Turn Blueprints Into Projects
“Lima’s Build-Ready Program is about making it easier to build quality housing by removing unnecessary barriers,” said Mayor Sharetta Smith, a fifth-generation Lima native serving her second term. “Through our partnership with Ohio REALTORS® and the Greater Ohio Policy Center, we’re offering free preapproved home plans. In addition to these plans, the city is offering incentives and assistance through the construction process, including CRA tax abatements for up to 15 years, utility tap fee waivers worth several thousand dollars per home and personalized development assistance to help builders navigate permitting.”
Shovels in the Ground, Housing Rising From Lots
“While we’ve received more than two dozen inquiries since launching the program in April, we’re already seeing its impact. Three new homes on Holly Street were inspired by the Ohio REALTORS® Pattern Book, with designs adapted to meet Lima’s local needs while preserving the principles behind the program,” said Smith, a lawyer and public servant who has focused her administration on neighborhood revitalization. “That project reflects the power of collaboration, with the Lima Community Improvement Corporation serving as developer, the City of Lima helping make the project possible and Blass Holdings constructing the homes. Together, we’re creating practical solutions to expand housing opportunities and strengthen our neighborhoods.”
Smith urges other cities to break down barriers to small, incremental developments on urban infill lots.
“Personalized development support means we don’t just hand someone a set of plans and wish them luck. Every builder starts by submitting a simple online interest form that connects them directly with our Housing and Neighborhoods team. From there, we help identify vacant lots that fit their project, discuss which preapproved home designs are compatible based on lot size, zoning and setback requirements, explain available incentives and walk them through our online permitting system,” said Smith. “When they’re ready to move forward, we provide a seamless handoff to our Building Department so they have support throughout the entire development process.”
Adding Gentle Density and Making It Easier to Build
Erica Spaid Patras is director of research at the Greater Ohio Policy Center, the nonprofit revitalization organization that teamed with Ohio REALTORS® to create the housing toolkit.
Changing zoning codes to allow multiple units on one lot within a single-family zoning district “is a tough nut to crack,” said Spaid Patras, advising advocates to slowly chip away at preconceived notions that more density creates problems.
“Cleveland Heights did something interesting. The city had a design competition for ADUs — before they were legal — to build community support,” she said of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). “People saw carriage house designs, they saw how cute these gentle density approaches can be.”
Spaid Patras said required variances and lengthy reviews slow down and threaten small-scale development — leaving many lots vacant. The toolkit gives sample designs for a narrow home and an attractive two-unit dwelling on small parcels. She noted that in many cities, restrictive codes outlaw the kind of housing that was developed in that very community decades ago.
“Household sizes in Ohio are getting smaller and smaller. We need smaller housing that fits that size. We need more diverse housing — dwellings that are affordable, that allow people to enter the housing market or downsize to a smaller home,” Spaid Patras said. “This is not designed to put skyscrapers at the end of cul-de-sacs.”
Encouraging Infill Development, Avoiding the High Cost of Sprawl
Spaid Patras stressed that duplexes and triplexes do not change the character of a neighborhood — they simply allow a little more density. Many historic, high-value neighborhoods have a diverse mix of housing types.
“Our goal for this housing toolkit was to help lower the barriers to infill development. It makes good sense to build where roads, utilities, infrastructure, housing and services already exist,” she said.
“A virtuous cycle is created by investing in existing neighborhoods — it raises the value, makes it more livable. The [government] cost of development on the fringe is the huge cost of road, water and sewer extension, building new schools. Infill strengthens the market. When local smaller-scale developers build, the investment stays in the community.”
An Adaptable Pathway to Generating Housing That Meets Needs
Spaid Patras emphasized that the toolkit’s creators expect cities to modify the guidebook’s ideas to fit local needs. She said that while the housing types have design variations, she encourages updates that add drawings that support accessibility for people with disabilities and aging in place through universal design.
“We put the toolkit out as a way of starting the conversation in Ohio. For any municipality that develops a program, we [support] layering of incentives to level the playing field for infill.”
Communities have different housing needs and different visions for growth, but Ohio’s experience demonstrates what can happen when REALTORS®, local governments and community partners work together. What began as an Ohio housing toolkit is now providing adaptable, practical solutions that communities can use to turn vacant lots and housing plans into new homes.
