3 ms·

Good comment and perspective. I don't live in the Bay Area, but I actually hope that the problem gets worse and that non-development continues. It can/does kee

by muninn_ 10y ago

Good comment and perspective. I don't live in the Bay Area, but I actually hope that the problem gets worse and that non-development continues. It can/does keep some engineers here in areas like where I live. The primary issue the Bay Area has is that, as you mentioned, there is no in-between. It's either skyscrapers or gigantic houses with expansive yards. What the area actually needs is more mixed-use development neighborhoods.

eitally 10y ago
By "gigantic" I'm sure you really mean is the 1200-1800sqft tract ranches from the 1940s-60s that consume the majority of the developed suburban land, right, because there are almost 0 gigantic houses in the region compared to literally every other major metro in the country. And that's one of the problems: too many people stretched their budgets to buy crappy $1m houses, they can't really afford to do it again, and prop 13 (plus impending rising mortgage rates) actively disincentivize anyone from selling after they manage to get into this market, no matter what their house is like.
rsync 10y ago
"The primary issue the Bay Area has is that, as you mentioned, there is no in-between. It's either skyscrapers or gigantic houses with expansive yards. What the area actually needs is more mixed-use development neighborhoods." The Bay Area is a very large, very diverse place and has plenty of the inbetween of which you speak. In fact, right in the epicenter of this particular Silicon Valley - in downtown Mountain View, for instance, there is quite a bit of medium density, two and three story apartment complexes centered around the small downtown. Or take the N-Judah all the way to the beach - that's filled with two and three story apartment buildings. Certainly, many people believe that's the problem - it should be four and five story apartment buildings - but it is really not true at all that the Bay Area is "either skyscrapers or gigantic houses with expansive yards".
- jacobolus 10y ago
  The zoning in the Sunset is outrageous. If you take the N Judah, almost the whole neighborhood (except for a few tiny bits) is zoned for very low density residential. Look at all the light yellow on the zoning map: http://default.sfplanning.org/zoning/zoning_map.pdf http://default.sfplanning.org/zoning/zoning_map.pdf Upzoning a significant percentage of the Sunset and providing faster public transit from there to other parts of town is in my opinion one of the best things SF could do for local housing prices.

by muninn_ 10y ago

eitally 10y ago

By "gigantic" I'm sure you really mean is the 1200-1800sqft tract ranches from the 1940s-60s that consume the majority of the developed suburban land, right, because there are almost 0 gigantic houses in the region compared to literally every other major metro in the country. And that's one of the problems: too many people stretched their budgets to buy crappy $1m houses, they can't really afford to do it again, and prop 13 (plus impending rising mortgage rates) actively disincentivize anyone from selling after they manage to get into this market, no matter what their house is like.

rsync 10y ago

"The primary issue the Bay Area has is that, as you mentioned, there is no in-between. It's either skyscrapers or gigantic houses with expansive yards. What the area actually needs is more mixed-use development neighborhoods." The Bay Area is a very large, very diverse place and has plenty of the inbetween of which you speak. In fact, right in the epicenter of this particular Silicon Valley - in downtown Mountain View, for instance, there is quite a bit of medium density, two and three story apartment complexes centered around the small downtown. Or take the N-Judah all the way to the beach - that's filled with two and three story apartment buildings. Certainly, many people believe that's the problem - it should be four and five story apartment buildings - but it is really not true at all that the Bay Area is "either skyscrapers or gigantic houses with expansive yards".

jacobolus 10y ago
The zoning in the Sunset is outrageous. If you take the N Judah, almost the whole neighborhood (except for a few tiny bits) is zoned for very low density residential. Look at all the light yellow on the zoning map: http://default.sfplanning.org/zoning/zoning_map.pdf http://default.sfplanning.org/zoning/zoning_map.pdf Upzoning a significant percentage of the Sunset and providing faster public transit from there to other parts of town is in my opinion one of the best things SF could do for local housing prices.