Zoning
Ben Carson Battles the NIMBYs
The HUD secretary's desire to tackle restrictive zoning is encouraging, but real reform will have to come from the bottom up.
Progress in the Struggle Against Exclusionary Zoning
Reforms in multiple jurisdictions could help loosen restrictions on development that infringe on property rights, inflate housing prices, and cut off large numbers of people from job opportunities.
Oregon Proposes Ditching Single-Family Zoning Statewide
Cities and states are embracing bold housing reforms as the year ends.
Vermont Man Barred From Building on His Own Property Flips Off Government With Giant Middle Finger Statue
And there's nothing the town can do to stop him.
Progressive Minneapolis Just Passed One of the Most Deregulatory Housing Reforms in the Country
Urban liberals are won over to libertarian policies, if not libertarian politics.
Minneapolis Strikes a Blow for Affordable Housing by Slashing Zoning Restrictions
Zoning rules that severely restrict home construction cut off millions of poor people from jobs and affordable housing. The Minneapolis reform is the most extensive reduction in zoning achieved by any major American city in a long time.
Miami Beach Shut Off Home's Electricity, Water, Over Unpaid Airbnb Fines
The fine is likely unconstitutional, and the city's strong-arm tactics were blocked by a judge this week.
Anti-Development Activists Killed California's Last Stab at Free Market Housing Reform. Will They Get on Board With This Latest Attempt?
Senate Bill 50 would override restrictive local zoning laws to allow more housing construction near transit.
This California Man Researched the City Code Before Building a 'Dream' Treehouse. The City Is Screwing Him Anyway.
Not only did Brian Esola make sure he wasn't violating the city code, he also checked with his neighbors beforehand.
Seattle's Amazon Tax Was Going to Raise $20 Million For Affordable Housing. Now the City is Getting Sued for $40 Million for Stopping a Housing Project.
The city's attempt to save the famed Showbox music venue has predictably resulted in a lawsuit.
San Francisco Man Prevented from Turning His 'Historic Laundromat' Into Apartment Building Is Suing the City for $17 Million
Robert Tillman's attempts to build housing have been frustrated by an increasingly ridiculous set of objections.
Ben Carson Calls Out Zoning Regulations for Driving Up Housing Costs
The HUD Secretary wants to revise Obama-era housing regulations he says do too little to address the real drivers of housing costs.
Cory Booker Proposes Bill to Curb Exclusionary Zoning
He deserves credit for being one of the very few national politicians to focus on this enormous problem. If enacted, his proposal would be a step in the right direction, though it is likely to have only a modest impact.
Jay Austin, Tiny House Innovator, Killed in Attack Claimed by ISIS
Austin was part of a group murdered in Tajikistan.
Local NIMBYs Hold Up Medal of Honor Museum Over Height Concerns
Designed by famed architect Moshe Safdie, a planned Medal of Honor Museum is 75 feet too tall for local zoning codes.
San Francisco Delays Building 4 Years in the Making Because New Apartments Will Cast Shadows?!
The owner of a "historic" laundromat has been thwarted at every turn in his bid to build apartments in a city in the midst of a housing crisis.
Philadelphia Wants To Tax Housing Construction to Make Housing Cheaper
Real estate investors worry a new construction tax will halt construction in an already-heavily taxed city.
California Lawmakers Look to Stop Cities from Billing Citizens Thousands for Their Own Prosecutions
A bill would stop the use of private lawyers to try to force residents to pay massive fees for minor crimes.
California Über Alles? Only in Counterproductive, Outdated Housing Policy
Over the next 30 years, Texas may overtake the Golden State because it is more welcoming to newcomers.
A Candidate for the Title of Dumbest Land-Use Restriction in the Nation
A DC law bars property owners from redeveloping land containing a full-service gas station, or removing them to make way for other uses.
The Defeat of California Senate Bill 827 and the Future of the Struggle to Curb Zoning
A California bill that would have greatly liberalized zoning rules failed in the state legislature. The defeat has implications for the broader struggle to expand housing and job opportunities for the poor.
Anti-Development Forces Kill Free-Market Housing Reform in California
SB 827 would have opened up swaths of California's cities to new construction. Now it's dead.
New Orleans Threatens Man with Jail for Mural Replicating Trump's Crass 'Grab Them by the Pussy' Comments
ACLU steps in to fight zoning regulations that appear to let officials veto art based on content.
Concerns Over Historic Sidewalks, Endangered Garter Snakes Hold Up Construction of San Francisco Home
Troy Kashanipour's experience trying to erect a code-compliant home on his own property shows how stacked San Francisco's approval process is against builders.
Voting with Your Feet Does Not Lead to Segregation
Recent evidence suggests it actually reduces it.
San Francisco Fines Landlord $2 Million For Renting Out Dwellings to Low-Income Veterans that Violated Zoning Codes
Many of Judy Wu's tenants remain at risk of eviction.
New Orleans Nixes Plan for Strict Cap on French Quarter Strip Clubs
"There is nothing inherent" to strip clubs "that causes crime," say city planners.
Cato Unbound Symposium on "The Captured Economy"
The symposium focuses on Brink Lindsey and Steve Teles' important new book describing how several forms of government regulation slow economic growth, increase inequality, and reduce opportunities for the poor.
Florida Couple Fined $50 Per Day for 'Illegal' Treehouse on Their Own Property
Cited for building the treehouse without a proper permit, the family must now file for permits to tear it down.
California Bill Cutting Back Zoning Could Increase Access to Housing and Jobs for Millions
By greatly reducing zoning restrictions on housing construction, Bill 827 could massively expand opportunity for large numbers of people.
Seattle Bans Landlords From Screening "Qualified" Tenants
The city's goal is to curb "unconscious bias." But the policy is based on dangerous premises, and is likely to harm tenants more than it benefits them.
Florida Appeals Court Upholds City's Veggie-Garden Ban
A court says a city can squash your property rights because it thinks vegetables are ugly.
Wisconsin Lawmakers Pass Bill to Protect Property Rights, Reverse Supreme Court Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court said local regulators could treat two lots owned by the same family as if they were a single parcel. A new law aims to stop that.
Chicago Alderman Who Told Businessman to 'Come Back To Me On Your Knees' Sued for Abuse of Power
Brian Strauss sues to protect his property rights.
Government Created the Housing Crisis. Government Can Solve It.
Suggestions from a New York real estate attorney
Houston's Anarchic Zoning Laws are an Affront to Sim City
They just build whatever they want, wherever they want, like a bunch of savages.
The Media Keep Saying Houston's Development Caused It to Flood
An engineer explains why that's wrong.
No, Flooding in Houston Was Not Caused By a Lack of Zoning Laws
The "development kills" crowd has failed to take into account the very creation of Houston and its long and colorful history of being underwater.
Zoning Laws in New York, San Francisco, and San Jose Cut Americans' Wages by $8,775
And they've made the U.S. economy 9 percent smaller than it would it otherwise be.
Local Officials Are Coming for Your Garden
Local regulatory busybodies are zoning away your right to grow food in your garden.
