News and Commentary
Jenny Schuetz at Brookings Institution writes on what housing policy means for the coronavirus pandemic. She notes many housing problems will be exacerbated by the economic downturn and correctly suggests policymakers act fast to get financial support to individuals.
California Senator Scott Weiner recently proposed a bill to eliminate single-family zoning, writes Adam Brinklow in Curbed: San Francisco. The new bill SB 902 puts gentle density theories into practice, overriding local housing regulations to allow two, three, or even four units depending on the area. Hopefully it can overcome the stiff opposition that halted Senator Weiner’s more aggressive SB 50, but even slight changes are expected to meet tough NIMBY resistance.
Minnesota Senators are working on a bipartisan bill to end single-family zoning, following Oregon’s lead in allowing duplexes on previously single unit lots. Letting property owners improve their property as they wish will help make housing more affordable for residents, and it’s great to see legislators in yet another state work in that direction.
Of course, zoning isn’t just a problem for policymakers in the United States. The Merritt Herald reports on the efforts to streamline zoning in Merritt, a town in British Columbia, Canada.
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