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How Bay Area small suburbs create housing crisis


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2017 Jul 28, 8:01am   3,009 views  9 comments

by tovarichpeter   ➕follow (6)   💰tip   ignore  

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-small-city-controls-big-housing-project-20170728-story.html

Liam DillonContact Reporter Just beyond San Franciscos city limits lies 640 acres of land that could help solve some of Californias biggest problems.A developer wants to build 4,400 new homes there one of the largest projects recently proposed in one of the countrys most unaffordable regions. The development would overlook a railway that drops riders into the heart of San Francisco in 15 minutes, reducing the need for cars and cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that come from them. State and regional leaders have endorsed the project. But its fate rests with Brisbane, a city of 4,700 people that annexed...

#housing

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1   Patrick   2017 Jul 28, 8:13am  

This is a good insightful article. Lol that it comes from the LA Times and not an SF paper.

The project, Brisbane Baylands, reveals how few incentives local governments have to accept large developments — even as the state is pushing to lower housing costs and funnel growth toward existing cities and nearby mass transit to combat climate change. Brisbane residents are wary of a project that could triple the city’s population. Under California’s tax system, Brisbane also earns more money if it rejects the current plan in favor of potential alternatives with more hotel rooms and space for businesses — but no homes.

The Bay Area’s dire need for housing makes the debate over the Baylands project “particularly painful,” said Ben Metcalf, director of the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

“It is frustrating that as a state and as a constellation of local jurisdictions we are constantly making decisions that aren’t the best for alleviating poverty, housing affordability, furthering our state’s economy or meeting our climate change goals,” Metcalf said.

2   Strategist   2017 Jul 28, 10:04am  

tovarichpeter says

Liam DillonContact Reporter Just beyond San Franciscos city limits lies 640 acres of land that could help solve some of Californias biggest problems.A developer wants to build 4,400 new homes there one of the largest projects recently proposed in one of the countrys most unaffordable regions. The development would overlook a railway that drops riders into the heart of San Francisco in 15 minutes, reducing the need for cars and cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that come from them. State and regional leaders have endorsed the project. But its fate rests with Brisbane, a city of 4,700 people that annexed...

This NIMBY thing is going too far. They should be building huge skyscrapers in this land for 50,000 high rise condos. Neighbors should have no right to determine what can be built on someone else's land. They don't own the damn property. NIMBY is all over California, and creating problems everywhere.
I propose the California voters vote for a new law on the ballot box that would severely curtail the NIMBY's. If you want a small town feel, then go to a small town. The BA and So Cal is not a small town anymore.

3   Heraclitusstudent   2017 Jul 28, 12:51pm  

Cities want the jobs but they don't want the housing.
The state needs to edict a rule that cities cannot add new jobs unless they first add new housing units. 1 new job = 1 new unit.

4   epitaph   2017 Aug 1, 12:16pm  

Heraclitusstudent says

Cities want the jobs but they don't want the housing.

The state needs to edict a rule that cities cannot add new jobs unless they first add new housing units. 1 new job = 1 new unit.

Jobs come and go. Houses don't.

5   Heraclitusstudent   2017 Aug 1, 12:19pm  

epitaph says

Jobs come and go. Houses don't.

Let's keep it simple: let's make a rule that they must build residential real-estate in proportion to commercial office space.
Jobs come and go. Office space doesn't.

6   dublin hillz   2017 Aug 1, 3:11pm  

Not sure exactly where they can build effectively in SFBA - most current cities are already built out - in fact many new projects in cities other than dublin involve some bizzaro in-fills where a townhome community with hardly any amenities will go up with an unobstructed view of the cemetery. I guess will make a good vacation rental during halloween...

They could potentially destroy East Bay Regional Park District land like Las Trampas and build in places like that but most commute routes for work already have severe traffic issues and more residents will only exacerbate the problem.

Another alternative is to build high rises in the suburbs but it will not flow well here like in florida ocean-front between miami and fort lauderdale.

7   Heraclitusstudent   2017 Aug 1, 4:07pm  

dublin hillz says

Not sure exactly where they can build effectively in SFBA - most current cities are already built out -

Did you read the article?

8   PeopleUnited   2017 Aug 1, 7:44pm  

It seems to me that the city is actually hoarding land, by actively preventing the construction of housing. That is why government should not be allowed to do these kind of things. Special interests will always find a way to restrict supply and drive up costs. The answer is not more taxes, more laws, or bigger government. It is lower taxes, less regulation and smaller government. The government should not be telling a developer NOT to develop land and make investments in property.

9   theoakman   2017 Aug 2, 6:58am  

the worst case of NIMBYism I ever saw was how Princeton was able to prevent I95 from being constructed throughout two counties in NJ. Still to this day, that action has created a traffic nightmare throughout the state.

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