4 ms·

It seems like the problem here is overregulation. Not the sort of regulations that require sufficient egress options or that housing be constructed in a way th

by Zak 9y ago

It seems like the problem here is overregulation. Not the sort of regulations that require sufficient egress options or that housing be constructed in a way that's somewhat resistant to burning down, but the sort of regulations made in the name of the "preserving the character of the neighborhood" or "nobody should have to live in X (safe and healthy) conditions". The motivation for many of these seems to be wealthier people not wanting to see, or at least live near poorer people.

nickbauman 9y ago
It's not the problem here in Minneapolis. Over 10 years ago they lifted the restriction on Auxiliary Dwelling Units and defined what they are and how they may be built (the regulations, which seem reasonable). I want to build one on my property but it'll cost me a ton. I think that's the problem.
- Zak 9y ago
  A quick google search suggests that while there are some concerns about housing affordability in Minneapolis, there isn't the sort of housing crunch that would make constructing an ADU rapidly profitable like it might be in San Francisco. If I implied the regulation was the only thing keeping people from building ADUs everywhere, I apologize for being unclear.
  - nickbauman 9y ago
    Minneapolis is not as bad as SF, for sure. But it's the worst it's ever been in more than 30 years. We have the most severe housing crunch, affordable or otherwise, in living memory.
- ianbicking 9y ago
  The regulations in Minneapolis don't seem so reasonable to me. For instance, if the property is ever not owner occupied you are supposed to remove the unit. If you want two units then that is straight out. You still can't build over a single story if it's an accessory structure. I'm assuming it doesn't change the amount of unbuilt square footage you need, though thankfully they did relax parking requirements. They haven't been popular here at all, and while they are expensive to build, I think they are also pretty regulatorily constrained. I've thought that if anything ever happens to our garage and I need or want to rebuild, I might look into an ADU. But probably I'd just try to get the property upzoned or otherwise get an exception instead of working inside the current regulations.
pxeboot 9y ago
That is definitely the motivation where I live. People seem to be willing to spend a lot of money to live closer to others with similar economic status. Where I live, you can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars more for an almost identical house in the 'wealthy' parts of town.
- wincy 9y ago
  We just moved out of a ranch style 980 sq. ft. house that we sold for $45,000. My wife's friend and her family just moved to a house that's about the same size, built around the same time (maybe a little smaller because it has a garage), and it cost $150,000 in a nicer neighborhood. I will say we really tried to give the old neighorhood a chance, most of our neighbors were great, but there was one family of renters that consistently was outside shouting and getting hauled away by the police, eventually culminating in a teen shooting off a gun (that looked like an assault rifle, we later found out it was 'only' a .22 rifle) into the air and screaming as another car peeled out and drove away, while my wife was talking to her mother on the phone on Mother's day. My two year old daughter was playing in the front yard, and it was right then we decided we had to move. So after that we moved to a $250,000 house in a much more affluent part of town, the most expensive we could afford, because what else were we supposed to do? Before we had our daughter, we didn't really mind, but once you put kids into the equation you become substantially more risk averse.
  - madengr 9y ago
    That’s what is happening with a lot of my millennial coworkers. Once they have kids, they move from the hip area of town, to the bland suburbs with decent schools.
- briffle 9y ago
  In many parts of the country, that same dynamic is in play, but because of the quality of the schools in that neighborhood
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  >People seem to be willing to spend a lot of money to live closer to others with similar economic status You could just say rich people don't want to live within walking distance of poor people.

by Zak 9y ago

nickbauman 9y ago

It's not the problem here in Minneapolis. Over 10 years ago they lifted the restriction on Auxiliary Dwelling Units and defined what they are and how they may be built (the regulations, which seem reasonable). I want to build one on my property but it'll cost me a ton. I think that's the problem.

Zak 9y ago
A quick google search suggests that while there are some concerns about housing affordability in Minneapolis, there isn't the sort of housing crunch that would make constructing an ADU rapidly profitable like it might be in San Francisco. If I implied the regulation was the only thing keeping people from building ADUs everywhere, I apologize for being unclear.
- nickbauman 9y ago
  Minneapolis is not as bad as SF, for sure. But it's the worst it's ever been in more than 30 years. We have the most severe housing crunch, affordable or otherwise, in living memory.
ianbicking 9y ago
The regulations in Minneapolis don't seem so reasonable to me. For instance, if the property is ever not owner occupied you are supposed to remove the unit. If you want two units then that is straight out. You still can't build over a single story if it's an accessory structure. I'm assuming it doesn't change the amount of unbuilt square footage you need, though thankfully they did relax parking requirements. They haven't been popular here at all, and while they are expensive to build, I think they are also pretty regulatorily constrained. I've thought that if anything ever happens to our garage and I need or want to rebuild, I might look into an ADU. But probably I'd just try to get the property upzoned or otherwise get an exception instead of working inside the current regulations.

pxeboot 9y ago

That is definitely the motivation where I live. People seem to be willing to spend a lot of money to live closer to others with similar economic status. Where I live, you can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars more for an almost identical house in the 'wealthy' parts of town.

wincy 9y ago
We just moved out of a ranch style 980 sq. ft. house that we sold for $45,000. My wife's friend and her family just moved to a house that's about the same size, built around the same time (maybe a little smaller because it has a garage), and it cost $150,000 in a nicer neighborhood. I will say we really tried to give the old neighorhood a chance, most of our neighbors were great, but there was one family of renters that consistently was outside shouting and getting hauled away by the police, eventually culminating in a teen shooting off a gun (that looked like an assault rifle, we later found out it was 'only' a .22 rifle) into the air and screaming as another car peeled out and drove away, while my wife was talking to her mother on the phone on Mother's day. My two year old daughter was playing in the front yard, and it was right then we decided we had to move. So after that we moved to a $250,000 house in a much more affluent part of town, the most expensive we could afford, because what else were we supposed to do? Before we had our daughter, we didn't really mind, but once you put kids into the equation you become substantially more risk averse.
- madengr 9y ago
  That’s what is happening with a lot of my millennial coworkers. Once they have kids, they move from the hip area of town, to the bland suburbs with decent schools.
briffle 9y ago
In many parts of the country, that same dynamic is in play, but because of the quality of the schools in that neighborhood
dsfyu404ed 9y ago
>People seem to be willing to spend a lot of money to live closer to others with similar economic status You could just say rich people don't want to live within walking distance of poor people.