When I was looking for my first place of my own 20-odd years ago in Olympia, Washington, I found a cheap unit within walking distance of my job. It was a small downstairs room that had clearly been converted from something else. I don’t recall there being any windows, and the only entrance or exit was a sliding glass door. It smelled bad. I passed, and soon after found a two-bedroom unit in a fourplex just a block from where I worked for less than $600 per month. Those were the days, right?
Idaho is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation, and so we, along with the rest of the country, are having a fierce debate right now about where to draw the line when it comes to housing policy. Should city government have stepped in to save me from the foul-smelling room? Or might it have been the right option for someone else? How far should cities and states go in regulating housing? After all, we don’t want to live in a Soviet-style dystopia, but neither do we want endless third-world favelas in our communities.
Last night, the Moscow City Council voted unanimously to approve changes to housing codes meant to close loopholes regarding definitions of bedrooms and kitchens, among other things. Local conservative John Slagboom saw it differently, posting on X following the meeting:
The Council just voted to make housing harder to build. Rents go up from here. They voted in the name of safety, it does the opposite.
Choke supply and people still need somewhere to live. They couch surf. They split rooms. They live in closets, because they can’t afford anything else. That’s the overcrowding this code claims to prevent, and it just guaranteed more of it. Scarcity is the hazard.
Build more. Enable the builders and developers trying to meet our housing needs. Don’t punish them with oppressive definitions, regulations, and ordinances.
Want housing that’s safe and affordable? Get out of the way and let it get built.
It reminds me of the old Mitch Hedberg joke:
I bought a house, it’s a two bedroom house, but I think it’s up to me to decide how many bedrooms there are. This bedroom has an oven in it. This bedroom has a lot of people sitting around watching TV. This bedroom is over in that other guy’s house.
To be serious, however, this decision in Moscow is only the latest move in a larger debate over where to draw the line on zoning and housing regulation. During this year’s legislative session alone, lawmakers passed four bills meant to curtail the ability of city councils to impose certain housing restrictions:
- House Bill 583 restricts regulations on short-term rentals such as Airbnbs.
- House Bill 800 restricts regulations on manufactured homes.
- Senate Bill 1352 requires cities to allow starter home subdivisions.
- Senate Bill 1354 prohibits regulations against accessory dwelling units.
Debate over these bills crossed partisan and ideological lines. Many moderate Republicans, as well as some right-wing conservatives, voted against some or all of them. Yet they were sponsored by two of the Legislature’s most conservative members, Rep. Jordan Redman and Sen. Ben Toews, both of Coeur d’Alene. The debate exposed a divide within conservatism between those who believe private property rights are paramount and those who believe local governments have a responsibility to maintain a certain threshold of safety and stability in their communities.
The line between those two positions is not obvious. Private property rights are an integral part of the Western political tradition, as expressed in John Locke’s formulation of “life, liberty, and property.” Yet living in a community alongside our fellow citizens entails certain tradeoffs. Fire codes exist not only for your own protection, but also for your neighbors—a fire that starts in one house or apartment can easily spread to others. Plumbing codes help ensure that sewage is properly disposed of rather than becoming a public health hazard. Many early regulations in American cities were adopted in response to unsanitary and unsafe conditions that allowed disease to spread rapidly. After all, prospective tenants often lack the expertise to know whether wiring is safe or ventilation is adequate, so government has established certain minimum standards that homes and apartments must meet.
When it comes to housing policy, there are really two considerations at play: health and safety, and community preference. Health and safety regulations include electrical codes, smoke detectors, egress windows, and proper plumbing and sewage systems. However, much of today’s debate revolves around community preferences, such as high- versus low-density development, parking requirements, building heights, and green space. As conservatives who value private property rights, how should we approach this discussion?
My hometown of Eagle is an interesting case study. Our population is approximately 35,000—a tenfold increase in just over thirty years—and many longtime residents still see it as a small town. Heck, even some who moved here within the past decade lament how quickly the city is growing and changing. The most outspoken Eagle residents on social media and at town hall meetings are often strongly opposed to new growth, or at least the kind of high-density growth we see in Meridian to the south and Star to the west.
Debate over high-density development was one of the major factors behind a complete turnover of the mayor and city council between 2019 and 2021. Jason Pierce, who served as mayor from 2019 to 2023, believed that emphasizing single-family development, along with abundant parks and recreational space, would attract more families, who tend to vote conservative, thereby preserving the community’s social and political character. However, a major factor in his 2023 election loss was the council’s decision to annex the Avimor development in the northeastern corner of Ada County. Critics argued that it represented too much growth, potentially adding tens of thousands of new residents over the coming decades. Supporters countered that the growth was inevitable—once the McLeod family decided to develop the land, people would come anyway—but annexation gave Eagle greater control over how that growth would occur.
This brings up an interesting paradox regarding housing and growth: do more laissez-faire housing policies ultimately lead to more progressive populations? Marriage and family status are among the strongest predictors of whether someone leans right or left, and families often prefer quieter suburban neighborhoods with room for children to play. I’ve written before about how younger, more progressive residents are often drawn to higher-density urban environments with more entertainment options and greater demand for public services. Is it possible that unchecked growth risks turning a small town into a sprawling urban city that will attract residents who inevitably vote for more progressive policies?
The question for conservatives, like the question for Eagle residents, is not whether growth will occur, but how it should be managed.
Ultimately, our elected representatives at the city, county, and state levels must grapple with these questions. Did the Moscow City Council go too far, and will its new codes stifle housing growth, as critics fear? This is also not to mention the many other factors affecting housing affordability, from illegal immigration to guest worker programs that increase demand and the cost of living in parts of our state. Nor should we ignore attempts to use the housing shortage to enrich nonprofits and other special interests. House Bill 760, for example, would have created a property tax exemption for nonprofits partnering with developers to build so-called affordable housing. Thankfully, it failed in the Senate.
The American Dream, for many people, is still a cozy house in a quiet neighborhood that a husband and wife can call their own, with a yard where their children can play. What policies can we enact—or remove—to bring that dream within reach for more Idaho families?
Feature image created with Microsoft Copilot.
About Brian Almon
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
