An interesting case study illustrating how state preemption of local housing laws can backfire: State Republicans in Florida successfully fought to reverse modest zoning reform in Gainesville!

Gainesville, a liberal city in an increasingly red state, faced pressure from a hostile legislature after it voted to allow duplexes and triplexes in single-family neighborhoods. Though the decision was reversed locally, the threat of state preemption threatened the reforms from the start

However, the story is more complicated. Florida’s legislature has on net passed pro-housing reforms, such as the 2023 Live Local Act and 2025 expansion promoted denser housing on commercial property by right, reduced or outright eliminated parking minimums in many areas, legalized ADUs in single-family neighborhoods, and more. In Texas, partisan state preemption from the Republican legislature has consistently pushed the state’s blue cities to build more housing, not less. That’s the trend in most of the rest of the country too

Ultimately, state pressure didn’t reverse Gainesville’s pro-housing policy. The 2022 election revolved around the zoning reforms, and the local council flipped to be less pro housing. Local attitudes, not state ones, led the reversal. And the fight helped mobilize a new YIMBY group, Gainseville is for People, to build community around changing attitudes

All this is to say, state preemption for housing is no pure substitute for local organizing. But it has had broadly positive impacts, even in Florida. So long as cities remain unresponsive to local housing needs, states will have a role to play implementing solutions—as has been argued by Jeff Fong Stephanie Nakhleh Laura Foote Addison Del Mastro Ryan Puzycki and many others