May 1, 2024 | Housing, Opinion
By Tim Redmond
May 1, 2024
In the past two years, at least four delegations of housing experts and political leaders from California have visited the Austrian capital, hoping to unlock the secrets of why Vienna regularly comes top in surveys of the world’s most livable cities.
They’re struck by the absence of homeless encampments, and marvel at the sheer scale of the subsidized housing developments which include shared amenities such swimming pools, gyms, workshops, communal gardens and spacious roof terraces.
Apr 26, 2024 | Litigation, Opinion
By Bob Sivestri
April 26, 2024
“On April 22, 2024, at 11:00 AM, the Honorable Curtis A. Kin in Department 86 of the Los Angeles Superior Court issued a ruling granting a Petition for Writ of Mandate challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 9, as applied to charter cities. Senate Bill 9 requires all California cities to ministerially approve an application for a lot split, and up to four total housing units, on a single family residential lot that meets certain specified criteria.”
Apr 19, 2024 | Housing, Opinion
By Lawrence J. McQuillan
April 19, 2024
Against the backdrop of a national shortage of affordable housing, due in large part to government policies, California lawmakers want to restrict corporate investment in single-family rental properties. This would make the Golden State’s housing affordability crisis worse. Since California is often a bellwether for both federal and other states’ policies, renters should hope the flawed idea dies before it spreads.
Mar 24, 2024 | Housing, Legislation, Opinion
Siyamak Khorrami
March 24, 2024
“The goal is to densify every town in the state. To densify it so that’d be walking around, not driving. In some places, it doesn’t work. But this whole policy has been applied as “one size fits all” with no complaining.”
Siyamak sits down with Amy Kalish, with https://citizenmarin.org/. She’s been studying what the Housing Mandates are for different cities in California. Amy’s going to tell us what’s happening with California communities.
Mar 23, 2024 | Housing, Opinion
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.
Mar 15, 2024 | Housing, Opinion
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
