Building Homes on Religious-Owned Land

If there was ever a clarion call for land use, Yes in God’s Backyard may be the most ethereal. In a riff on the pro-housing movement Yes in My Backyard, YIGBY advocates promote building housing on land owned by churches and other faith-based organizations. More than 100,000 U.S. churches will be closed over the next several years—an estimated one quarter of those in operation—according to the National Council of Churches. Even those that aren’t closing may be looking for new ways to generate income. The major culprit is a drop in attendance. Since these organizations often want to unload land and property, the YIGBY reasoning goes, why not seize the opportunity to convert these sites of houses of worship to include houses.

There is no nationwide analysis of how much religious-owned land might ultimately be available, but state-by-state analysis reveals significant potential. In California, the Terner Center at the University of California Berkeley estimates there are 47,000 acres of developable faith-based land. After filtering out land occupied by cemeteries and the like, Smart Growth Maryland estimates that more than 15,000 acres in that state could be the site of 6,200 new homes. In Massachusetts, the Lincoln Institute’s Center for Geospatial Solutions identified some 5,000 developable parcels totaling 20,000 acres—potentially the site of least 60,000 new homes—in a project with the Lynch Foundation. Most of those parcels had access to existing infrastructure like water and sewer, and were strategically located near transit.

Faced with severe housing shortages, state governments have been actively trying to encourage the conversions. Washington state led the way, followed by Maryland, Virginia, and California, which allowed religious organizations to build affordable housing on their properties by right–and extended the measure to apply to other nonprofit organizations, like veterans’ organizations and fraternal lodges, which face many of the same challenges as houses of worship. Local governments in Atlanta, San Antonio, and Seattle have also sought to streamline the process.

As is the case so often with government-owned parcels, land held by churches can rapidly become contested. When repurposing proposals roll out, neighborhood opposition has been common, manifesting in the original land use acronym that inspired YIMBY and YIGBY: NIMBY, or Not in My Back Yard. If a church property has been quiet for many years, nearby residents are worried about increased activity, parking, and traffic.

A redevelopment proposal for a Presbyterian church in Arlington, Virginia triggered a Change.org petition, Stop High Rises in Arlington Residential Neighborhoods, alleging that the project “will have serious detrimental effects on our community’s character, quality of life, and historical heritage.” In Colorado, YIGBY legislation was sidelined after local governments expressed a concern over loss of local control.

Still, with land in limited supply and restrictions on building so pervasive, an increasing number of communities are determined to seize the opportunity for infill redevelopment on church and nonprofit properties. The key is not to be overzealous, said Richard Reinhard, principal of Niagara Consulting Group, who has been advising cities and houses of worship on how best to proceed with reuse and redevelopment. “YIGBY is promising, but the notion that all surplus faith properties should become 100 percent affordable housing is carelessly simplistic,” he said. He suggests a “360-degree assessment” of each site, which may reveal potential for mixed-use development or a partial repurposing of the property, allowing faith-based organizations to continue operating in some form.

Much like publicly owned land that is being eyed for new uses, the emptying chapels and temples and rectories—not to mention the Knights of Columbus clubhouses or the YMCA gyms—await a new purpose that fulfills another mission of the community: the peaceful dwelling places and secure homes promised in the Bible.

Anthony Flint is a senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, host of the Land Matters podcast, and a contributing editor to Land Lines magazine.

Lead image: Site plan from a design charrette in Durham, North Carolina, led by the Faith-Based Housing Initiative. Credit: Faith-Based Housing Initiative.