Labyrinthine Zoning Rules Restricted Homeless Shelters During the Pandemic
As COVID-19 spread across the country, complex rules around land use and building permits made housing the poor and vulnerable effectively impossible.
Zoning
Eric Adams Wants to Cut a Rug, Zoning Regulations
The mayor's 'City of Yes' initiative would peel back regulations on everything from dancing in bars to all-studio apartment buildings.
Saudi Prince's Plan for 'Walkable' City of Single-File Buildings Could Be Two Miles-Long Skyscrapers Instead
The idea is exactly as dumb as it sounds.
County Where It Took 50 Years To Approve New Subdivision Bans New Airbnbs
Officials in Marin County, California, argue a temporary moratorium on new short-term rentals in western portions of the county is necessary to preserve the area's limited housing stock.
Eliminating Single-Family Zoning Isn't the Reason Minneapolis Is a YIMBY Success Story
Housing production is rising and rents are falling. But newly legal duplexes and triplexes make up only a tiny fraction of new development.
Why Pro-Choice Blue States Should also be Pro-YIMBY
Atlantic writer Jerusalem Demsas argues that blue states can't give "refuge" to people fleeing abortion restrictions if they don't cut back on zoning restrictions that lead to sky-high housing costs.
Will People Vote With Their Feet for Abortion Rights in a Post-Roe World?
The answer to this important question is highly uncertain. I tentatively predict a significant, but still modest, increase in abortion-driven migration.
Montana's Ban on Mask Mandates Is Stopping Local Governments From Enforcing Their Zoning Codes
Officials in Gallatin County, Montana, say a state law that prohibits local governments from forcing businesses to turn customers away is preventing it from cracking down on zoning code violators.
Joe Biden Takes Another Stab at Zoning Reform
The administration is proposing to spend $10 billion over ten years incentivizing local and state governments to remove regulatory barriers to new housing construction.
Her Dream Was To Open a Vegan Tattoo Shop. Zoning Officials Shut Her Down.
"It's a lot to try and put this stuff all together all on my own, using my own savings, and then having to start all over," says Venus Vegan Tattoo owner Selena Carrion.
Maine Could Be the Third State To End Single-Family-Only Zoning
The Pine Tree State is embracing California-style housing reforms. It could run into California-style problems.
Running Bitcoin Miners Out of Town
Trying to sue or zone bitcoin mines out of town is the wrong response to the tradeoffs the industry presents.
Pittsburgh Will Force Private Developers To Build Affordable Housing
These "inclusionary zoning" policies have a record of increasing housing costs and suppressing new housing supply.
Justin Trudeau's Plan To Ban Foreigners From Buying Canadian Homes Won't Make Housing Affordable
Foreign buyers are a small percentage of new home purchases. Excluding them from the housing market does little to reduce housing costs.
Video of American Enterprise Institute Event on my Book "Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom"
It includes commentary by housing policy specialist Emily Hamilton (Mercatus Center), and economist Filipe Campante (Johns Hopkins University).
A Future for Floating Homes
Dutch officials are updating zoning laws to allow homes that are fixed to the shore but rise and fall with the water.
San Francisco Passes Moratorium on Delivery Warehouses To Shake Down Amazon
City politicians and union activists have said the temporary ban on new delivery warehouses is meant to send a message that the company can't just open a new facility without first providing generous "community benefits."
How the War on Sprawl Caused High Housing Prices
Since the 1960s, planners have convinced many state and regional governments to limit the physical spread of urban areas.
San Francisco's Efforts to Block Duplexes Could Force It To Allow Skyscrapers Instead
Supervisors have proposed legalizing fourplexes in a way that preserves NIMBYs’ ability to stop new housing. That could trigger the state’s obscure “builder’s remedy.”
Berkeley NIMBYs Are Taking Advantage of California's Flawed Environmental Regulations
Liberal Berkeley officials might be coming around to the view held by conservative business leaders, who have long argued that California's Environmental Quality Act needs an overhaul.
Cities Force Businesses to Oversupply Parking Spaces. A Lawsuit Says That's Unconstitutional.
Azael Sepulveda is suing the city of Pasadena, Texas over its requirement that his autobody shop add 23 parking spaces he insists he doesn't need and can't afford.
By Forcing U.C. Berkeley To Cut Enrollment, Have California's NIMBYs Finally Gone Too Far?
Lawmakers are proposing to strip neighborhood activists of the legal tools they've used to freeze the university's student population.
Texas Town Shuts Down Her Home Day Care After Nearby Golfers Complain the Kids Were Making Too Much Noise
Bianca King argues in a new lawsuit that Lakeway, Texas, zoning officials illegally deprived her of her right to earn a living by denying her a permit for her home day care business.
An Austin Zoning Technicality Made His Landscaping Business Illegal Overnight
Brandon Krause has spent $30,000 trying to legalize a business that the city said for years was all up to code.
California City Says It Can't Allow Duplexes Because It's Already Overrun by Mountain Lions
"Every house that's built is one more acre taken away from (mountain lions') habitat. Where are they going to go?" asks Woodside Mayor Dick Brown.
Lawsuit: Crackdown on Church Soup Kitchens Violates the First Amendment
St. Timothy's Episcopal Church says that a Brookings, Oregon, law limiting its "benevolent meal service" to two days a week unconstitutionally restricts its religious mission to feed the hungry.
The Tennessee Supreme Court Could Decide the Fate of Nashville's Home Recording Studios
The city's restrictions threaten one of the world's most vibrant music scenes.
Leave Goat Yoga Alone!
"We can't even do the things we want to on our own property that aren't even hurting anyone."
AOC Is a Fake YIMBY
The New York congresswoman has endorsed much-needed zoning reform, but also raised typical NIMBY complaints about projects in her own backyard.
Zoning Officials Stop Church From Opening 40-Bed Shelter in Sub-Zero Temperatures
Gloversville's Free Methodist Church has 40 beds ready and waiting at its downtown shelter. City officials say the zoning code doesn't allow people to sleep in them.
Will New York Copy California's Most Successful Housing Reform?
The Golden State's legalization of accessory dwelling units has produced a glut of new housing. New York area policymakers are trying to replicate the success.
Will Bitcoin Be Done In By Terrible Zoning Laws?
Local ordinances threaten upstart crypto-mining operations.
A Drive-Thru Window Saved His Business, but Now He's Being Forced To Shut It Down
Zoning officials concede Robert Balitierrez's drive-thru window isn't causing any problems. But they say it's a code violation and has to close anyway.
2021 Was a Great Year for Zoning Reform
Jurisdictions around the world are trying to address high housing costs by eliminating regulations on new housing construction.
Low-Income Condo Residents Say D.C.'s Demand That They Pay for Restoring Historic Balconies Will Force Them Out of Their Homes
The $1.5 million that it would cost to fully replace balconies at the historic Kenesaw apartment building could end up tripling the condo fees of some low-income residents.
San Francisco Considers Not One but Two Bills Legalizing 'Missing Middle' Housing Citywide. Both Have Flaws.
The otherwise positive proposals are undermined by affordability requirements and density restrictions.
Biden's Build Back Better Plan Contains One Potentially Helpful Housing Program
Funding for affordable housing and grants to incentivize streamlining zoning laws could represent a policy win for YIMBYs.
Oregon Town Bans Church Soup Kitchens From Serving Meals More Than 2 Days a Week
Rev. Bernie Lindley of Brookings' St. Timothy's Episcopal Church says that the new rules violate his First Amendment rights, and that he won't comply with them.
Indiana Woman Must Shut Down Business After County Officials Determine Her Farm Isn't Zoned for Commercial Goat Yoga or Goat Snuggling
Jordan Stevens' application to legalize her Happy Goat Lucky Yoga business was denied by Hamilton County's Board of Zoning Appeals last month.
San Francisco Wants To Sell the Air Rights Above City Hall for $45 Million. Why Not Give Them Away for Free?
The tradable development rights the city has in its possession are only made valuable by its insane restrictions on new development.
There Would Be a Lot More Good News if Government Would Get Out of the Way
"The quality of life we have even during COVID is so much higher than anything humanity experienced, and it's only going to get better."
The Sims 4: Cottage Living
You can finally set up a farm with crops and animals such as cows, llamas, and chickens—heedless of zoning rules!
Can Universities Control the Operation of Municipal Zoning Ordinances?
A pending cert petition challenges a Bloomington zoning ordinance that requires a landlord to evict a derecognized fraternity
Two More Worthy Additions to the "Anticanon" of Constitutional Law—Berman v. Parker and Euclid v. Ambler Realty
Second in a series of posts on historically awful Supreme Court decisions that deserve more opprobrium than they get.
My National Affairs Article on "Voting With Our Feet"
The article explains how expanding opportunities for foot voting can enhance political choice, help the poor and disadvantaged, and reduce the dangers of political polarization.
California Enacts Two Important New Zoning Reform Laws
Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10 would make it easier to build new housing in much of the state.
Meet the Property Owner Who Created a Toilet Garden to Protest Local Officials
"I have my First Amendment rights," says Hank Robar.
Do San Francisco's Restrictions on Chain Stores Violate the First Amendment?
Whether a local burrito chain will be able to open another restaurant in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood could hinge on the precise name of the new location.
