A Mixed Bag
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill that bans rent control and removes some zoning regulations. While these are both positive measures—they are a step towards greater freedom—other provisions in the bill are anti-freedom. The bill, like DeSantis, is a mixed bag.
As an example, local governments are now required to approve multi-family developments on land zoned for commercial or mixed use. However, to qualify for this regulatory relief, the developer must rent at least 40 percent of the units at below market rates. This is known as inclusionary zoning—developers are required to include “affordable housing” in their project in exchange for being allowed to use their property as they choose.
A developer who chooses to have only market rate units will not receive expedited approval for his project, if he receives approval at all. This slows the development process and can add significantly to the cost. And the cost of development is ultimately passed on to renters.
Inclusionary zoning is the flip side of the exclusionary zoning coin. The former is used to force the inclusion of certain people in a neighborhood or development. The latter is used to forcibly exclude certain people from a neighborhood or development. DeSantis is attempting to overcome the evils of exclusionary zoning via the evils of inclusionary zoning.
As I have previously noted, DeSantis is often a bully. He resorts to force, or the threat of force, to “motivate others to act as he desires. He often talks of promoting freedom out of one side of his mouth while advocating anti-freedom measures out of the other side. He has done this has done this repeatedly, with the bill mentioned above being only the latest example.
DeSantis is a mixed bag because he lacks principles. Principles provide both foresight and consistency in one’s actions. The actions of a principled person are easy to predict. With a mixed bag, you never know what you will get.