Akron eliminates minimum lot sizes to boost infill housing

The city council of Akron, Ohio, voted unanimously to eliminate residential minimum lot sizes across legacy code neighborhoods, HousingWire reported. The ordinance allows developers and buyers to build single or multiple homes on any parcel that meets basic yard requirements, regardless of the total square footage. [1]

HousingWire reported that the policy change unlocks hundreds of city-held parcels that were previously considered undersized for residential construction under decades-old zoning rules. Local officials aim to use the zoning rewrite to encourage missing middle housing and jump-start urban infill development. [1]

The move is rare among municipal governments, according to HousingWire. While several cities and states have reduced lot size thresholds or allowed multi-family structures on single-family lots by right, few local jurisdictions have explicitly removed minimum lot size limits entirely. [1]

Akron is located in the Rust Belt, a region encompassing parts of Ohio and other states in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions that experienced significant industrial decline during the late 20th century. [3][4]