Permit-Ready Housing Plans: Lessons from Four Cities

The housing crisis has prompted communities across the U.S. to explore innovative ideas, such as permit-ready plans and pattern books, to increase housing supply. Planners are playing an essential role in developing these programs to address local needs, from supporting infill development to broadening housing choice.

By providing pre-approved designs, permit-ready plans can help reduce costs, speed approvals, and lower barriers to development. But communities are discovering that successful programs require more than just a collection of plans.

Lessons Learned

To better understand how these programs are being developed and implemented, the American Planning Association (APA) spoke with city planners in Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Overland Park, Kansas; and South Bend, Indiana. While each community has taken a different approach, several lessons have emerged.

START WITH A NEED

The Anthony Single-Family Home is one several designs available in the permit-ready plans program in Overland Park, Kansas. Image courtesy of Pattern Zones Co. Original design by Blockwright.

Communities that have successfully implemented permit-ready plans started by identifying a clear need.

In Overland Park, for example, the city's 2018 strategic planning process identified a need for more housing options, such as cottage-court developments. At the time, much of the city's new construction consisted of large single-family homes. That led city leaders to ask what they could do to develop more housing, says Leslie Karr, AICP, Overland Park's planning and development services director.

Bartlesville is taking a similar approach, with city leaders creating a residential pattern book after a 2024 housing study identified critical needs, including affordability, aging housing stock, limited multifamily options, and rising renter costs. The effort also ties to the city's focus on infill development downtown.

Meanwhile, a 2020 housing assessment found that Grand Rapids would be understocked by about 15,000 housing units by 2027. In response, planners reviewed zoning regulations, sought community input, and partnered with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to create permit-ready plans that lower barriers to infill development and expand housing options.

REMOVE BARRIERS BEFORE CREATING PLANS

As The Pew Charitable Trust notes, while plans are promising, they're not a substitute for more sweeping reforms, such as permitting accessory dwelling units (ADUs), reducing parking requirements, allowing residential development in additional zoning districts, and modernizing building codes.

South Bend illustrates this approach. According to planning director Tim Corcoran, the city's permit-ready plans were built on broad zoning reforms adopted in 2020, including allowing ADUs on residential lots and rewriting the city's zoning ordinance to support a wider range of housing options. The permit-ready plans were just one piece of a greater effort. "Pre-approved plans aren't a silver bullet to your community's housing crisis," he says. "They're a tool that can help your community."

South Bend has issued 91 permits under its pre-approved plans program since January 2023. Last year, the city built more single-family homes than unincorporated St. Joseph County — the first time since the 1960s.

GOOD DESIGNS BUILD COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Permit-ready plans are often highlighted for reducing costs and speeding up approvals, but design matters just as much. Homes built through these programs become part of a community's fabric, so it's critical they fit local architecture and reflect neighborhood character.

In Overland Park, city leaders realized this before launching their Portfolio Homes program. After a developer proposed an 18-unit infill project that many saw as unattractive, officials worried residents would be skeptical of additional housing efforts. In response, the city hired architects who worked with neighbors and developers to create housing designs that better reflect the character of nearby neighborhoods.

"They told us what we already knew ­— good design matters," says Karr, adding that the goal was not to impose rigid architectural requirements, but rather to strike a balance between flexibility and quality by offering homes that felt like a natural fit with existing neighborhoods.

Bartlesville reached similar conclusions. When discussing design considerations, Holly Mayhew, a senior planner for the city, says future plans should reflect the character of the community's historic neighborhoods, which feature Craftsman homes and residences dating to the 1890s.

EXPAND THE RANGE OF HOUSING TYPES

Communities seeking to increase housing opportunities may need to look beyond the types of housing they have traditionally built. Permit-ready plans can help make a wider range of housing options possible, but only if communities are willing to embrace new approaches that respond to local needs.

The Narrow House design accounts for about 41% of the permits issued by South Bend, Indiana's permit-ready plans program. Photo courtesy of South Bend, Indiana.

In South Bend, that meant rethinking how to use the city's many narrow lots. At just 30 feet wide, these lots were considered too difficult or impractical to develop. Instead of viewing them as a barrier, the city worked with an architect to create a narrow-home design specifically suited to these lots. Now it accounts for about 40 percent of the permits issued under the program. "What homebuilders thought couldn't be done is now one of our most successful plans," says Corcoran.

In Overland Park, while large single-family homes have typically dominated the city's newer development, local planning efforts identified a need for smaller, more diverse housing options. That led the city to include cottage courts and smaller single-family and duplex housing, often described as missing middle housing, in its Portfolio Homes program.

One challenge, Overland Park planner Karr notes, has been encouraging builders accustomed to constructing larger homes to embrace a different type of housing. But city leaders believe these smaller housing options are an important part of meeting future housing needs.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

One of the strongest lessons emerging from these communities is that successful housing initiatives require broad support and collaboration. In South Bend, Corcoran emphasizes the importance of breaking down silos between departments. Planning, public works, building, fire, and other city departments all play a role in shaping housing outcomes, he says, which makes working together essential.

Partnerships also extend beyond city hall. Builders, lenders, community organizations, and residents all help determine whether housing initiatives succeed. Grand Rapids offers an example. The city worked with the MEDC to develop its permit-ready plans and continues to share lessons learned with other cities throughout the state interested in starting programs. Staff also work one-on-one with emerging developers to educate them and ensure everyone is aligned.

"We stick with them throughout the process," says Sarah Behmlander, a planner with the city.

Connecting to the ROAD to Housing

Interest in permit-ready plans may be further supported by the recently enacted 21st Century ROAD to Housing law, which includes provisions that encourage zoning reform and planning innovations, like grants for pre-approved plans and pattern books. As communities continue exploring new ways to address housing shortages, planners may have more tools and resources available.

"This is a breakthrough moment for housing and the communities working to deliver more homes," said APA President Sue Schwartz, FAICP, in a statement after the legislation passed. "This legislation recognizes the essential role of planning in helping communities lower barriers, expand housing choices and turn housing goals into homes."

The next step is the federal appropriations process that will determine funding for many of the law's new initiatives. While communities await those funding decisions, planners can act now by updating local zoning codes and developing pattern books that support new housing opportunities.

These efforts can help communities be prepared to take advantage of federal resources while laying the groundwork for new housing. APA's fact sheet on the housing bill highlights additional provisions that may affect local planning efforts.

Top image: The Theodore Duplex is one of several permit-ready plan designs available from Overland Park, Kansas. Image courtesy of Pattern Zones Co. Original design by Blockwright.