I'm pro-development, but, to a point. I actually agree with most of this. It seems the height of hubris for lawmakers in Sacramento to insist that no, you 350 p

I'm pro-development, but, to a point. I actually agree with most of this. It seems the height of hubris for lawmakers in Sacramento to insist that no, you 350 people in this town, you don't know how the town should be developed, we're going to mandate it for you and force you to do it how we want, local character and situation be damned. I think the middle ground is that you have to be careful about what zoning and planning codes do and don't allow. In my view, a property owner like you should have pretty broad discretion about how a place gets developed. A lot of very nice-looking town centers developed in the late 1800s/early 1900s (North America) without zoning. It got done because it worked, more expensive/taller/nicer buildings near the middle of the city (on more valuable land) and less-expensive, "lower" uses toward the periphery. It's simple market incentives. The trouble comes when the tax code, zoning, or other policies discourage the natural, higher-intensity development from creating more housing on higher-value land. You're just looking at the incentives and being a good businessperson. People (blue collar) want a place to live. You're giving it to them at a price they can afford. This should be celebrated, not vilified. I also own (market rate) low-income housing. In the neighborhood where I grew up, there are a bunch of lots with older houses sitting vacant. I own an apartment there and would love to convert some of the existing (empty) houses into duplexes/four-plexes, but can't out of a misguided sense of it being a "single-family neighborhood". This makes no sense. I'm turning something people don't want, into something they do. The zoning completely ignores market forces out of a misguided attempt for neighbors to force their view onto other property owners. It's well-intentioned but, as other posters have said, carries a huge cost we need to talk about more openly.