Key facts
- Akron eliminated minimum lot sizes for residential development.
- The city's median existing home list price is about $149,000.
- Previous zoning required a minimum of 4,000 square feet for a single-family home.
Akron, Ohio, a Rust Belt city that has lost population for five decades, has eliminated minimum lot sizes for residential development in an effort to spur housing construction and attract new residents. The city council voted unanimously this week to remove decades-old zoning codes that previously prevented smaller homes from being built on smaller lots. City officials believe reversing Akron's decline requires attracting builders and middle-income residents, and that zoning rules adopted decades ago blocked rebuilding what once stood there. The median existing home list price in Akron is about $149,000, roughly a third of the national median.