Zoning for the Valley

Overview

Zoning for the Valley is LVBT’s land-use reform project. It connects transit advocacy to the codes that shape where housing, jobs, shops, parking, and density can exist.

The project focuses on public literacy first, then named fights such as parking reform, transit-oriented development, missing-middle housing, and corridor zoning.

Motivation

Better transit needs places worth taking transit to. In much of the Valley, land-use rules make those places hard or illegal to build through parking minimums, single-family-only zoning, height caps, and low-density corridor rules.

Transit advocacy without zoning advocacy can produce a great BRT line surrounded by surface parking lots. LVBT has to fight for both the service and the places that service connects.

Approach

LVBT will explain what local zoning codes actually say, map where missing-middle housing is legal or banned, and anchor each reform fight to a specific code section, board, and date.

The work will coordinate with the Block Vision Project, Workforce Coalition, Faith & Neighborhood Network, and Local Government Program so concrete neighborhood visions, employer interests, resident voices, and public hearing coverage reinforce each other.

Activities

LVBT will publish zoning explainers, a missing-middle map, hearing trackers, and public comments that connect code language to everyday consequences. The goal is to make zoning legible enough for residents to recognize when a rule is blocking the kind of neighborhood they want.

The work will also build coalition support for specific code reforms and a record of who acted when those reforms reached a vote. When a jurisdiction has a hearing, LVBT will be able to point to the rule, the practical effect, and the public position it is asking decision-makers to take.