Governor Brown's 'By Right' Housing Fast-Track Proposal Dead In The Water
California, one of the epicenters of the housing affordability crisis, just saw the death of a proposal that would have speed up residential development by limited local review processes. Given that community involvement both helps ensure that new development adds to a neighborhood as opposed to detracting, but also can put in place restrictions and conflict that make building needed housing more expensive or impossible. How do we create a better balance between preserving and enhancing?
“The compromise with legislators which would have freed up $400 million for affordable housing development was set to allow developers to build “as of right,” so long as they produced a minimum amount of below-market-rate units, without having to go through the usual design review and public approvals process. The only problem, of course, is that places like San Francisco have a long and strong tradition of community involvement in every stage of development, which may be a hindrance at times but also serves as a check against development that alters the character of neighborhoods against the neighbors’ will.”