☆ Analysis: Land use restrictions spike up Bay Area house prices

Brian Holtz — SCC Libertarian Party Campaigns Committee chair and proud geolibertarian — discusses AB 2907’s proposal to eliminate parking minimums and other general zoning requirements. Holtz connects overbearing land use restrictions with the SCC’s less-affordable-by-the-day housing market. An Opp Now exclusive on Local Gov’t Hopes & Fears.

My big wish is that San Jose should expand on AB 2907 by eliminating parking minimums throughout the city, and not just within a half mile of “public transit.” It should also eliminate height restrictions, stairwell and elevator requirements, and land use zoning rules in general. These actions would increase urban infill, decrease urban sprawl, encourage new transit solutions, decrease auto pollution and congestion, increase walkability, and increase housing affordability while simultaneously increasing land values.

My big apprehension is that entrenched special interests will find backdoor ways to sabotage development projects that try to take advantage of AB 2907. Too many agencies and “stakeholders” have veto power over how property owners can develop their land, with the inevitable result that the Bay Area becomes inexorably more unaffordable and unbuildable.

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Image by Martin LaBar