Memphis, TN Amends Local Building Code to Allow up to Six Units Under Residential Building Code (IRC) to Enable Missing Middle Housing

On November 1, 2021, Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, rolled back a significant, but lesser noted regulatory hurdle to building missing middle in the US, by locally amending building codes to enable structures of 3 to 6 dwelling units to be reviewed by the city and county under their residential building code rather than the commercial building code that typically triggers at three units or more. For Andre Jones, a local builder and member of the City and County’s Building Code Advisory Board, the push to become one of the first jurisdictions to review missing middle housing under the residential code could not have come at a better time.
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Public Draft of Austin’s CodeNEXT Land Development Code Now Live!

After intensive public outreach, diagnosis, and drafting, the City of Austin recently released the public review draft of its CodeNEXT Land Development Code. As lead consultant for the project, Opticos introduced the code to the public at a meeting of the City’s Code Advisory Group on February 1st. (Teaming partners Lisa Wise Consulting and Peter J. Park were also on hand to unveil.)
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