Back to Basics
Plus: California zoning bill survives powerful lawmaker's economic illiteracy, Montana legislators pass simple, sweeping, supply-side housing reforms, and Washington passes rent control.
Zoning
California Housing Bills Face Crucial Hearing Today
Bills designed to allow more starter homes and apartments near transit face an uncertain future in the state Senate's housing committee.
Hawaii County Tells Homeowner His 38-Year-Old House Is Actually Illegal
Shahzaad Ausman has had to sue the county to confirm that he can continue to live in his own home.
Zoning Police Come for Cape Cod Lobsterman
Jon Tolley and his family have been serving fresh lobster from their home for over 50 years, but an anonymous complaint to town regulators threatens to shut their business down for good.
Slow and Steady
Despite politicians touting progress, Los Angeles has only issued three permits for wildfire rebuilds and debris removal is expected to drag on for many months.
Oh, Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney's plan to create a federal housing developer is a terrible idea.
Comic: The Bottom-Up POV of Jane Jacobs
Challenging the common knowledge of urban planning
Federalist Society Webinar on "The California Wildfires and America's Housing Shortage"
The panelists included M. Nolan Gray, Jennifer Hernandez, and myself.
Judge Orders Rhode Island Town To Return Secretly Seized Land to Affordable Housing Developer
Plus: the federal government tries to stiff landlords over eviction moratorium one last time, the Supreme Court declines to take up eminent domain case, and starter home bills advance in Arizona and Texas.
Lawsuit Challenges Use of Eminent Domain as NIMBY Tool to Block Housing Project
A Rhode Island town seeks to use eminent domain to block construction of a large-scale affordable housing project.
Town Secretly Seizes Developers' Property Then Threatens Them With Trespassing Citation
The owners, who were planning an affordable housing project on the site, first learned about the seizure from the mayor's social media post.
J.D. Vance Blames Zoning, Immigrants for High Housing Costs
Plus: Texas and Minnesota consider an aggressive suite of housing supply bills, while San Diego tries to ratchet up regulations on ADUs.
The 'Montana Miracle' Vindicated in Court
On Monday, a Montana judge roundly rejected homeowners' legal challenge to new laws allowing duplexes and accessory dwelling units in single-family areas.
Upcoming Event on "Solving the Nation's Housing Crisis"
Economist Bryan Caplan and I will speak at event sponsored by the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
Fresh Starts on Starter Homes
Lawmakers in Arizona and California are attempting to overcome local resistance to meaningful starter home reforms.
Bad To Worse
From insurance to affordable housing mandates, California's regulatory noose tightens over wildfire rebuilding efforts.
Lawsuit Over New Hampshire Donut Mural Heads to Trial
Conway, New Hampshire, is trying to make a local bakery take down a mural of colorful baked goods. The bakery says that violates its First Amendment rights.
Why Are We Fighting?
When regulations limit what kind of housing can be built, the result is endless arguments about what people really want.
Town Uses Eminent Domain To Stop Private Affordable Housing Project
Johnston, Rhode Island, Mayor Joseph Polisena promised to "use all the power of government" to stop the privately financed 252-unit project.
Missing Middle, What Is It Good For?
Allowing duplexes and triplexes in single-family neighborhoods doesn't increase housing supply much. But it does give people more choices.
18 Months After Wildfires Destroyed Some 2,000 Homes on Maui, Only 3 Have Been Rebuilt
A thicket of red tape has made the island's rebuilding efforts painfully slow.
In Session
Lawmakers across the country introduce bills to strengthen private property rights, crackdown on out-of-control regulators, and get the government out of micromanaging stairways.
Regulations Keep Millions of Bedrooms Empty During a Housing Crisis
Zoning laws, occupancy limits, and short-term rental restrictions are keeping housing off the market and driving up costs.
California Squeezes Private Money Out of Wildfire Rebuilding Efforts
Needless regulation on fire insurance, "speculators," and duplexes means fewer dollars are going to rebuild Los Angeles.
The L.A. Fires Are a Natural Disaster, Not a Policy Disaster
The Golden State has many bad policies in desperate need of reform. It's not obvious they had more than a marginal effect on the still-burning fires in Los Angeles.
Easing Zoning Restrictions Can Facilitate Rebuilding After the LA Fires
The destruction of numerous homes exacerbated the city's already severe housing crisis. Curbing exclusionary zoning is crucial to addressing the problem.
Los Angeles Zoning Laws Pushed People and Homes Toward Fire-Prone Areas
Single-family zoning makes it practically impossible to build more housing in central L.A.
Why Building a Lot of 'Affordable' Housing Is Bad News for Affordability
Cities become affordable when lots of new housing is built, not when a larger percentage of a small amount of new housing is made "affordable" by regulation.
Unprecedented Rise in Homelessness
The latest federal homelessness survey finds an 18 percent annual rise in the number of people living without permanent shelter.
Housing Policy 2024: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Cities and states are passing lots of productive reforms, local courts are increasingly striking them down, and local governments continue their harassment of homeless shelters.
North Carolina Passes Sweeping Surprise Ban on 'Downzoning'
To the bewilderment of many, North Carolina's hurricane relief bill includes the nation's strongest property rights protections against new zoning restrictions.
Is the YIMBY Movement Hopelessly Divided?
Internal tensions within the movement are real, but far from irreconcilable. Litigation and political reform are mutually reinforcing, not mutually exclusive pathways to curbing exclusionary zoning.
How Exclusionary Zoning Increases Homelessness
A new paper by housing expert Salim Furth shows it does so by making it harder for marginal people to find housing with relatives and friends.
Pastor Criminally Charged With Zoning Violations Gets His Day in Court
Plus: New York City moves forward on zoning reforms, Utah city moves backward on granny flats, and D.C. considers a ban on landlords' pit bull bans.
Tribal Sovereignty Saves a Homeless Shelter (For Now)
The Yakama Nation has won a temporary restraining order preventing the City of Toppenish, Washington, from closing its new cold weather shelter.
Big City, Little Reforms
The final version of New York's "City of Yes" reforms makes modest liberalizing changes to the city's zoning code.
Families Need Affordable Housing, but New York Residents Use Red Tape To Block Development
With the help of New York’s environmental review law, local NIMBYs halted an approved housing project, adding to delays and costs in a city facing a housing shortage.
California Voters Opt for Orderly Urbanism on Election Day
Golden State voters decisively rejected progressive approaches to crime and housing.
California's Rent Control Initiative Goes Down in Flames
A related initiative preventing the state's most prolific rent control–supporting nonprofit from funding future initiatives is headed for a narrow victory.
Final Published Version of "The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning" Now Available
In this Texas Law Review article, Josh Braver and I argue that most exclusionary zoning violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
The Year's Most Important Housing Vote
Proposition 33 would repeal all of California's state-level limits on rent control. It's passage could prove to be a disaster for housing supply in the Golden State.
Elon Musk Versus the California Coastal Commission
The state's powerful coastal land-use regulator is arguing its awesome development-stopping powers applies to rocket launches as well as housing.
In Rush to Redevelop, a California City Tramples Property Rights
Urban renewal efforts should recognize that existing businesses and new residents can coexist.
No Place To Go
Despite homelessness being on the rise, local governments keep cracking down on efforts to shelter those without permanent housing.
J.D. Vance Accuses Ohio's Haitians of 'Massively Violating' Zoning Laws
Instead of focusing on the ways a rollback of zoning laws could lower housing costs for everyone, Vance wants to zealously enforce zoning codes to keep Haitians out of town.
Is Kamala Harris Really a YIMBY?
Harris rightly calls out regulations for causing the housing shortage, but she also supports rent control policies that will make it worse.
