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I don't know enough about Gainesville to comment seriously on this particular change, and the article is light on details. But the gloss it gives is this: > ".
by mturmon 4y ago
I don't know enough about Gainesville to comment seriously on this particular change, and the article is light on details. But the gloss it gives is this:
> "...allow duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes to be built on land currently zoned for single-family homes"
If true, this is a pretty minor change from R1 zoning.
*
I live in a part of coastal California with housing prices that have been rising very fast, much faster than wages -- for a couple of decades. And the effects of strict R1 zoning mean that unless you're rich, or already own property there, you have to leave town.
Most folks can't buy a home except by going very far to the outskirts of the city. This is a serious problem for people who are starting their career.
And ultimately strict R1 zoning has an almost uncountable number of eventual knock-on consequences: clogged highways, people with super-long car commutes, more pollution, an increasing amount of money spent on roads and dispersed infrastructure that aren't really necessary or even wanted by many people. An aging population of people in SFR's that many don't really want, because it's the only mode of living.
This one really does need a re-think. (And that's how I became a YIMBY despite owning a home!)
- shaburn 4y agoZoning laws have been around far longer than commutes. Most of your retired community has too.
- shaburn 4y agoAlso, "If true, this is a pretty minor change from R1 zoning." Totally wrong. Even if you were increasing population density 1 to 1 (substantially more so with each unit) that is a 2X, 3X, and 4X increase in population density alone.
- poulsbohemian 4y agoYou've been a member here since 2016, but have very low karma and this seems to be among the only threads you've ever commented on, IE: this seems to be an issue that really matters to you. Can you share more info about your background and apparent passion for this topic? FWIW: My little rural community is one of the first in our state to pass these kind of residential density changes. It's been good for us, but I definitely see where it has been jarring in more urban areas and hasn't really had the intended impact in either type of city.
- shaburn 4y agoBeing a contrarian bear who has been here before requires thick skin. Additionally, the less popular the idea, the more merit. Considering the intelligence of the community, trading karma is well worth the signal.
- shaburn 4y ago"S.F. population fell 6.3% to lowest level since 2010" - SF Chronical https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/S-F-population-fell-6-3-most-in-nation-to-17199403.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/S-F-population-fell-6...
- shaburn 4y agoCalifornia is no longer facing a housing shortage. It has immense urban space unfilled(double digit vacancy of commercial real estate), a second collapse of the tech sector which will result in more outflows, net negative migration, and a plethora of legislation to fix yesterday's problems at the state level with a sledgehammer(so too much, too late, in the wrong direction). The Bay Area is experiencing double digit value drops in the last month and exploding listing supply. Not one of these things are indicators of a shortage. In reality they tend to snowball into collapse. California will be increasingly dependent on property taxes that will be dropping like a rock while expanding programs in housing predicated on the opposite. Homeless problems are real and I suspect being exacerbated by misappropriated policy instead of roofs over heads (40k empty units in SF alone).
- shaburn 4y agohttps://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2022/08/12/netflix-puts-165k-sf-los-gatos-campus-up-for-sublease/ https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2022/08/12/netflix-puts...
- mturmon 4y agoOk, eventually, if all the properties flip and are maximally developed. That would take many years. And even a quadplex is different than a multi unit apartment building.
- shaburn 4y agoDublin, California went from a sleepy single family residence community with low crime to half multistory condos and apartments with crime, traffic, and cost of living increases in a half a child's time in school. Their city council got "motivated" and the builders went to work. It doesn't take long and often does not go as well as Dublin has. Dublin benefited from exceptional incomes from tech, for now.
- mechagodzilla 4y agoDublin, CA has been growing strongly for 40 straight years - the population grew 72% from 1980 to 1990 (presumably when many of those sleepy single family homes were built). Looking at the most recent crime statistics (and ignoring 2020, where crimes decreased drastically because of the pandemic), total number of crimes increased by 7% from 2015-2019 while the population increased by 17%, so crimes-per-capita has actually been decreasing. If cost-of-living increases has you concerned, reducing housing number of available housing units will probably not increase affordability in any way.