The alternative title for this piece was: "Ballot Box Zoning: Where Needed Housing Goes to Die."Next month, Los Angeles will be voting on Measure S, a proposed 2-year policy that will effectively serve as a moratorium on new construction. That is, Measure S will require a public vote on any new … [Read more...]
Only In California: Twisting an Anti-Exclusionary Law To Rationalize Exclusion
As a Market Urbanism reader, you are hopefully fluent in the problems of exclusionary zoning. If you're new to the term, there are some good pieces on the topic here and here. Basically: exclusionary zoning is the use of zoning to price people out of a community. The classic example is minimum … [Read more...]
When NIMBYs Use Renters’ Health To Stop Rental Housing
Davis, CA, is a small college town a twenty minutes' drive outside of Sacramento (on a good day). It has a vacancy rate on par with Manhattan despite being surrounded by flat, developable farmland. Some critics attribute this absurd vacancy rate to Measure R, a ballot initiative approved by Davis … [Read more...]