A Bill to Preempt Single-Family-Only Zoning Near Transit
Federal preemption of single-family-only zoning within a half-mile of fixed-rail transit stations.
Localities receiving any federal transit or housing funds shall permit multifamily housing of at least four units by right within 0.5 miles of fixed-rail transit stations.
Conflicting local zoning rules are preempted within the defined radius.
$310 million in technical assistance and litigation support.
HUD and DOT joint enforcement.
Mechanical parts, sourced & timed
Use this as your pre-round checklist. Memorize the source citation. Time yourself to the delivery target.
- Bill / Number
- H.R. 1268 — A Bill to Preempt Single-Family-Only Zoning Near Transit
- Funding source
- $310M from HUD + DOT technical assistance.
- Timeline
- Effective at next federal grant cycle (12 months).
- Realistic — California SB 9 (2021) shows state-level rollout in 9 months.
- Enforcing agency
- HUD + DOT joint enforcement.
- Yes — both routinely condition funding (South Dakota v. Dole, 1987).
- Penalty for non-compliance
- Withholding of federal transit + housing grants.
- Source citation
- Furman Center (NYU, 2023), 'Zoning, Land Use, and Housing Supply' — furmancenter.org.
- Delivery time (read aloud)
- 1:15 (75s)
Federal zoning preemption violates the Tenth Amendment and local democratic control.
It doesn't preempt — it *conditions federal funds*, which South Dakota v. Dole (1987) settled. Localities remain free to keep their zoning if they decline transit and housing grants. Furman Center (2023) showed exclusionary zoning around transit costs $1.6T in cumulative GDP and is itself the result of decades of non-democratic redlining; the federal corrective is well-grounded.