You're a pro housing person. Now what?

If you've been following our work, you already know the basic argument: Idaho needs more homes, our zoning codes are getting in the way, and pro-housing Idahoans need to show up in front of elected officials and make that case.

We've heard from a lot of you that you agree. You're frustrated. You want to do something. And you're not sure where to start - so let's talk about that.

Pro-housing people exist in every Idaho community. Homeowners who want their kids to be able to afford to move back. Business owners who can't fill jobs because workers can't afford to live nearby. Farmers who don't want to see ag land converted to sprawl because there's no infill housing alternative. Retirees who can't downsize because there's nothing to downsize into.

These people are everywhere. But they're scattered. And the opponents of housing — the ones who show up to every planning commission meeting with matching t-shirts and a three-page comment — are organized. That gap is the whole ballgame. You don't have to be louder than them. You just have to be there.

You don't need to start from scratch. The Welcoming Neighbors Network, which supports Gem State Housing Alliance's work, has put together a practical guide on how to build a local pro-housing group. The basics are straightforward: Find four or five people in your community who care about this. That's enough to start. Have a few one-on-one conversations with neighbors, colleagues, or people you've seen speak up at a city council meeting. Start a simple spreadsheet of your contacts, then show up to a planning commission meeting together.

The guide lays out a three-stage path: recruiting potential leaders, building structure, and taking action. But you don't have to do all of that alone, and you don't have to reinvent the wheel. That's what Gem State is here for.

Gem State Housing Alliance is Idaho's statewide pro-housing coalition, and we want to hear from you. If you're a housing practitioner, developer, realtor, lender, or someone who works in any field adjacent to housing, join us and share our newsletter. We're building out regional and sector-specific groups to connect people doing this work across the state, share information about what's happening in your city, and coordinate when something needs to be said in front of an elected body.

If you're a concerned resident in a community working through a zoning code update, a comp plan revision, or a contested development decision, we can help you figure out how to show up effectively and connect you with others in your area who care about the same things.

Please reach out and tell us where you are and what you're seeing and we'll connect you to the right people and make sure your voice is part of what's happening in the 2027 legislative session, in your city's planning process, and in the coalition we're building for the long term.

Idaho's housing future is going to be decided by who shows up. Let's make sure it's us.