June 23, 2026
Over the last few years, interest in pre-approved plans — standardized building designs reviewed in advance by local governments to streamline permitting, reduce development costs, and accelerate housing production — has grown substantially. This growing interest is largely driven by the perception that pre-approved plans offer a relatively noncontroversial way to boost housing supply. However, the novelty of pre-approved plans and the limited public data on their effectiveness have left jurisdictions interested in the policy tool with few practical resources to guide and design their own initiatives.
Join the Housing Solutions Lab at the NYU Furman Center for a 45-minute webinar on how states and localities across the nation are exploring whether pre-approved plans can speed up permitting and new residential construction.
Join us on Thursday, July 9, starting at 12 p.m. The session will begin with a presentation by Seva Rodnyansky, a Research Manager for the Housing Policy Initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Seva will draw from insights from a recent report by his team at Pew, which details various implementations of pre-approved plans across the U.S. The presentation will also address takeaways from this nationwide scan, including which designs and considerations have spurred new units.
A fireside chat will follow with Jeff Dube, a Community Planning and Project Manager at Vermont’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and Britin Bostick, a Long Range Planning and Special Projects Manager at the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Jeff will discuss Vermont’s 802 Homes project, which aims to implement pre-approved plans and a statewide design catalog. Britin will discuss Fayetteville’s Permit-Ready Building Design Program, one of the earliest municipal implementations of pre-approved plans. Both panelists will discuss strategies for implementing pre-approved plans and the design decisions made to ensure the success of their respective programs.
Register below for our Pre-Approved Plans webinar to join the live session, where you will be able to ask the panelists your questions.
Watch previous Lab webinars here.
Don’t forget to join our mailing list to stay in the loop as we open registration for future sessions.
If you have questions about the webinar series, contact Claudia Aiken, the Lab’s Director of New Research Partnerships, at claudia.aiken@nyu.edu.