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Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

darrellowens.substack.com

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Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#531

Post by jp57 »

hibikir wrote: post #447
softsound wrote: post #364

Looking at other countries like Japan with like barely any zoning laws, this looks great, I hope it leads to more mixed cities again and more walkable/liveable areas like before WW2. It is funny that America land of the free had so many restrictions, building up hundreds of zoning laws across the country did a lot of bad and led to a lot of urban sprawl leading to very poor cities and towns that literally cannot pay…

This has little to do with the existence of zoning laws themselves, but the specific zones that they define. Japan has zones, so does Spain. But there's just nothing anywhere near as Restrictive as most US cities' R1 zone. Many places have R2s and R3s that are still more restrictive than the least dense thing than a Spanish city has. Remove zones alone, and HOAs will get areas into legally binding covenants that are…

> Remove zones alone, and HOAs will get areas into legally binding covenants that are also just as tough as their current zoning regulation.

This. Houston has little or no zoning and is terribly sprawling and car-centric. Despite the lack of zoning, in most neighborhoods you can't just build whatever you want because of restrictive covenants. Developers build massive car-focused single-family-only developments and load them with covenants that prevent anything else from being built on the property after it is sold.

Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#532

Post by mrfox321 »

anotheracctfo wrote: post #525
BenFranklin100 wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tokyo is not a free-for-all. It does zone for different uses by forbidding certain uses above a certain nuisance or hazard level. For instance, in many areas you can’t just plop down a chemical factory. The cool thing about Tokyo zoning though is that anything below a nuisance level is pretty much allowed. Want to build a house next to a dump or above a discotheque? Go for it, no one is going to stop you.

"I live above a bowling alley, and below another bowling alley" Rent has gotten so outrageous that this is a good thing now.

"Don't ask me how the economy works"

Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#533

Post by asciimike »

zugi wrote: post #507
softsound wrote: post #364

Looking at other countries like Japan with like barely any zoning laws, this looks great, I hope it leads to more mixed cities again and more walkable/liveable areas like before WW2. It is funny that America land of the free had so many restrictions, building up hundreds of zoning laws across the country did a lot of bad and led to a lot of urban sprawl leading to very poor cities and towns that literally cannot pay…

> like Japan with like barely any zoning laws I read an article a year or two ago (maybe posted here?) about Japan's zoning laws and they just make sense. - Rather than dozens of categories, there are just 4 or 5 in increasing amounts of annoyance (e.g residence -> retail/office -> manufacturing) and areas approved for one level can always be used by lower levels. - The laws are uniform nationally. - Zoning decisions…

Was it http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html by chance?

Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#534

Post by anotheracctfo »

encryptluks2 wrote: post #475
webkike wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

High rises are not dystopian. What is dystopian is people living in fucking tents

I'd rather live in a tent in a rural area with access to nature than an inner city high rise.

Sure, you can go homestead in Alaska. That should reduce demand in your city :)

Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#535

Post by Xeronate »

arcticbull wrote: post #372
oreoftw wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s wrong with the alternative of sane zoning instead of “just buy the plot”? All people want is to live in a quiet and a nice place after all. Why someone who doesn’t even live there but has a bigger buck should decide?

> What’s wrong with the alternative of sane zoning instead of “just buy the plot”? Honestly, this is sane zoning. The Japanese model is very effective. They saw roughly 0% growth in housing prices from 1990 to present. Housing in downtown Tokyo is affordable. You'll be hard pressed to find someone who thinks Tokyo is an abomination, it's a top-10 world city is basically every ranking. > All people want is to live in…

I think many people would consider Tokyo an overbuilt hellscape and never want to live there. I much prefer Santa Monica.

Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#536

Post by graphitegrey »

softsound wrote: post #364

Looking at other countries like Japan with like barely any zoning laws, this looks great, I hope it leads to more mixed cities again and more walkable/liveable areas like before WW2. It is funny that America land of the free had so many restrictions, building up hundreds of zoning laws across the country did a lot of bad and led to a lot of urban sprawl leading to very poor cities and towns that literally cannot pay…

This video provides a great overview of zoning in Japan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfm2xCKOCNk

Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#537

Post by sa1 »

scop wrote: post #263
mullingitover wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So much of the problems with housing in the state stem from the fact that lots of community members are valuing their investment in their own house over everything else. Housing can either be affordable or it can be a good investment, it really can't be both. At this point the market has been so perverted by entrenched interests blocking new development that I would be okay with a dictatorship of developers for a sol…

This is a point I don't often see discussed. I have friends and family in CA whose primary asset is their home, with little to nothing invested elsewhere (perhaps because of the high cost of living)...resulting in a mortgage they have no intention of ever paying off, little retirement savings, and fingers crossed for a cash-out down the line.

With this one-time change in zoning, they can cash out by converting their single family home to multi-family housing.

Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#538

Post by crooked-v »

mancerayder wrote: post #489
xwdv wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good. Fuck your neighbors. The region is long overdue for more housing to fix the ridiculous situation that has formed down there. Hopefully the region will become more affordable as new housing floods the area and brings down prices and makes things generally more affordable.

High rises are for people who aren't light sleepers, don't mind hearing music and noise in adjacent walls or above or below, are tolerant of parties and generally sociable. Guess who fits that demographic? Young single people and young couples who go out. The average middle age crank needs a house without shared walls and space. There are individual preferences at play here. No one chooses a high rise, it's just more…

There are plenty of high-density buildings that don't require 'light sleepers'. I live in one right now. The only sound I hear from other units is if we both have windows open; otherwise it's dead quiet to the point that I had to put in some rugs to muffle echoes from walking around on the tiled floors.

Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#539

Post by captainzidgel »

EarlKing wrote: post #519

California is still in the middle of a drought, and politicians want to railroad the production of additional housing supply for more people when the state can barely afford to provide for the water needs of the population it has? Yeah, sounds like California.

yeah let the homeless die off some more so i can keep watering my lawn

Re: Builder's Remedy goes into effect in many California cities tomorrow

#540

Post by jackson1442 »

nlavezzo wrote: post #511
hibikir wrote: post #447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has little to do with the existence of zoning laws themselves, but the specific zones that they define. Japan has zones, so does Spain. But there's just nothing anywhere near as Restrictive as most US cities' R1 zone. Many places have R2s and R3s that are still more restrictive than the least dense thing than a Spanish city has. Remove zones alone, and HOAs will get areas into legally binding covenants that are…

> The answers are very uncomfortable. Are they? Isn't it possible that people who live in beautiful neighborhoods with mature trees, nice big yards, and low traffic streets that are safe for kids to play around, want to keep them that way for primarily those reasons? Of course their desires alone shouldn't be the final word on proposed changes to codes, but implying that all of these homeowners are primarily driven b…

You can have all this (and more!) in cities as well. Lived in Seattle for a bit and my apartment had several neighborhoods of single-family homes within a couple blocks: each with mature trees, yards, and low traffic streets. Sure, the yard maybe isn't as massive as you can get in a suburb, but there's still plenty of space (and far more public parks).

Because they were so close to dense housing, they also had the added benefits of public transit and being walking distance to several grocery stores. Much better than suburbia in my opinion.

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