A recent look at YIMBY vs NIMBY said that a person's attitude about high-density housing was strongly affected by how urban centers were widely viewed when that person was about 18. Boomers were...
SB 9 – California Senate Bill 9
There seems to be ample fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the new senate bill 9 ( SB 9 ). City governments are described as scrambling to enact urgent ordinances. Many of the news reports emphasize that four homes would be built where there is currently only one.
The biggest change seems to be that city governments will have to write down the criteria to allow or deny a building permit rather than relying on personal subjective opinions. The first SB 9 application in Palo Alto was indeed to build four homes where there had been one. However, the lot is big enough to divide into four lots each 90’x100′. It would appear the first SB 9 application was indeed used as a way to avoid the time-consuming and costly process of satisfying arbitrary opinions.
Forcing local city planning and permitting to rely upon objective measurable standards could be a step towards local democracy. Currently, architectural review board members and other planning officials have wide latitude to base their denials on personal subjective opinions. If the criteria is written down, local residents can work together to change them.
The Turner Center at Cal Berkeley estimated it would make financial sense for property owners of 5.4% of the state’s 7.5 million single-family lots or about 410,000 parcels zoned for one traditional, single-family house, to add units.
Will YIMBY Create Increased Condo Demand?
A recent look at YIMBY vs NIMBY said that a person's attitude about high-density housing was strongly affected by how urban centers were widely...
Real Estate Agent Commission
In 2024 it became necessary for a real estate agent to get a written agreement with a potential buyer before they could tour a home with them....
Building “Affordable Housing”
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Price Appreciation vs DOM
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Median Days On Market
The roughly two-year-long pronounced difference in house price growth between Santa Clara County and cities near San Francisco invites us to examine...
Can Protected Trees Be Removed
Cities enact their own tree protection ordinances, which are specific to that city. A long-time Palo Alto resident recently posted about his...