An opinion piece in the San Bernardino Sun essentially claims that zoning is an application of property rights: When someone “owns” property, they own a “bundle” of ancillary rights. Bundle of rights is a term for a group of legal privileges granted to the owner at the time of purchase. The bundle contains ownership. Right…
In October 2020, the Cambridge, Massachusetts, city council enacted a citywide 100 percent affordable housing overly (AHO). The AHO allows apartment buildings up to four stories in all neighborhoods in the city. However, all units must be permanently affordable to households earning up to 100% of area median income. The standard for affordability is paying…
On September 8, 2021 the Pacific Legal Foundation hosted a webinar titled “Can Free Markets Solve America’s Housing Crisis?” The panel members were Jim Burling from the Pacific Legal Foundation, Judge Glock from The Cicero Institute, Nolan Gray from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and Patrick Tuohey from the Better Cities Project.
For years, Californians have been fleeing the state’s outrageously high taxes and draconian regulations. Many have settled in Texas, where both taxes and business regulations are generally less onerous. Interestingly, the Texas state capital, Austin, will soon become an unofficial part of California. A report by Zillow finds that, by the end of this year,…
An interesting article at TheRealDeal.com gives a peak into the problems caused by zoning and land-use regulations. The article discusses, in part, the plight of developer Arthur Wiener, who spent more than ten years getting the necessary permits to build an apartment building in New York City. A former employee of the Department of Housing…
The Los Angeles city council recently passed a resolution to oppose two bills being considered by the California Legislature. SB 9 would allow up to four housing units on a lot currently zoned for single-family and would apply across the state. SB 10 would allow cities to “upzone” and permit as many as ten housing…
An editorial in the Los Angeles Times calls for state lawmakers to pass legislation that would “sacrifice single-family zoning to save California.” But abolishing single-family zoning means restoring a little freedom to property owners, and freedom is not a sacrifice. Sacrifice “is the surrender of a greater value for the sake of a lesser one…
Writing in The Federalist, David Larsen makes a compelling case for eliminating single-family zoning. And he takes his fellow conservatives to task for opposing the Biden administration’s call to relax zoning laws: Are conservatives only against impositions on freedom and property rights from the federal government, while local governments should have absolute power over the…
It is said that politics makes strange bedfellows. Individuals who normally disagree politically sometimes find themselves working for a common cause. As an example, consider the conservative response to Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan and the Leftist response to the Cedar Point ruling. Though these are two very different issues, both conservatives and Leftists are supporting…
California lawmakers are considering legislation that would effectively abolish single-family zoning across the state. This isn’t sitting well with local government officials, and they have formed a coalition to lobby against the legislation. In an OpEd in the Los Angeles Times, three leaders of the coalition argue against the proposed zoning changes. These changes in…
When confronting a problem, some individuals have difficulty seeing a solution that is right in front of their nose. And this is particularly true when they are busy looking down their nose. The affordable housing crisis provides an example. Virtually everyone agrees that there is a substantial shortage of housing for low-income families. The primary…
For a century, zoning has been used to segregate “incompatible” land uses. In most cities, each area of the city mandates that land be used for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes. And in most cities, much of the land (often over 60 percent) is zoned for single-family homes. Defenders of segregating land uses have long…