Speculators and Affordability, not NIMBY and YIMBY

Speculators and Affordability, not NIMBY and YIMBY

LINCOLN MITCHELL
MAR 23, 2024

The discussion of housing in San Francisco remains mired in the inane polarized labeling of NIMBY and YIMBY. Neither of these terms are accurate and both obscure much of the nuance around a debate that is about much more than whether or not to build more housing.

Judge: Huntington Beach likely to lose housing case, must approve development projects

Judge: Huntington Beach likely to lose housing case, must approve development projects

By MICHAEL SLATEN |
PUBLISHED: March 22, 2024

Huntington Beach is likely to lose its state housing lawsuit for its refusal to plan for more housing and must approve new housing projects that come before it, a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled Thursday, March 21.
The judge suspended some of Huntington Beach’s development authority in a ruling that prevents the city from rejecting housing developments that meet state density requirements.

New bill may boost state enforcement powers over housing law

New bill may boost state enforcement powers over housing law

by Ruth Dusseault and Bay City News Service
March 22, 2024

California’s attorney general may be getting more muscle to discipline local governments that have violated state housing law via a new bill that would allow fines to be levied more quickly.
Under Senate Bill 1037, announced Wednesday by Attorney General Rob Bonta and state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, the attorney general could seek new penalties to be assessed from the date of a violation.

California Legislature rushes to spring recess

California Legislature rushes to spring recess

BY LYNN LA
MARCH 22, 2024

Thursday marked the final day for the Legislature before its starts a week-long spring break. So lawmakers were busy proposing and hearing some bills on contentious issues with deadlines coming up in late April and early May for them to advance.

The Case Against YIMBYism

The Case Against YIMBYism

Michael Friedrich/
March 15, 2024

Sonja Trauss, the charismatic founder of the YIMBY movement, recently spoke at a conference of fellow travelers about the importance of supporting small home builders. “Most neighborhoods are still zoned low-density, and so if you’re seeing new housing, it’s going to be small projects,” she said at Austin’s YIMBYtown 2024. Trauss bemoaned the onerous regulations, fees, and paperwork—not to mention meddling homeowners—that make it so hard for small firms to build