Classic California NIMBYism

cawacko

cawacko

Well-known member
If you have ever wondered why housing costs are insane in California and why people keep moving away, this is a pretty good example. Fairfax is a nice town in Marin County just north of San Francisco. The state says every city has to add housing, but local cities still fight it at every turn.

A developer wants to build a high-end apartment complex, and the city is pushing back. The Vice Mayor said this:

“We are not anti-housing, we are pro-safety, pro-sustainability, and pro-community. We will always support housing that meets the standards our residents expect and deserve.”

Translation: you start by saying you are not anti-housing before going into all the reasons you are. Then you roll out warm and fuzzy words that sound positive and can be used to block almost anything.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. This is not exclusive to California, but we have turned it into an art form.


Marin County town officials renew fight over proposed housing, even as a recall election looms​


 
cawacko said:
If you have ever wondered why housing costs are insane in California and why people keep moving away, this is a pretty good example. Fairfax is a nice town in Marin County just north of San Francisco. The state says every city has to add housing, but local cities still fight it at every turn.

A developer wants to build a high-end apartment complex, and the city is pushing back. The Vice Mayor said this:

“We are not anti-housing, we are pro-safety, pro-sustainability, and pro-community. We will always support housing that meets the standards our residents expect and deserve.”

Translation: you start by saying you are not anti-housing before going into all the reasons you are. Then you roll out warm and fuzzy words that sound positive and can be used to block almost anything.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. This is not exclusive to California, but we have turned it into an art form.


Marin County town officials renew fight over proposed housing, even as a recall election looms​


Click to expand...
Now given I find most of your threads interesting I had to look up Fairfax, California. The place has only a few hundred over seven thousand inhabitants, with a 1960’s San Francisco legacy. And being such, it is not surprising they oppose a new apartment complex, but unless I am mistaken, it is not the complex itself, but the design, size, and especially height of planned project. The mayor approved it, which is why they are recalling her/him

Being so small, and a seemingly unified opposition of the community, there has to be a possible compromise unless the builders are obstinate with their designs

Hey, it’s San Francisco, or at least the mentality, burdened by schizophrenia, prides itself on being free and independent, but only if you are fire and independent in a manner they approve. If it were NY, the matter would have been ironed out legally before it began with both the community and builders losing big bucks to attorneys
 
archives said:
Now given I find most of your threads interesting I had to look up Fairfax, California. The place has only a few hundred over seven thousand inhabitants, with a 1960’s San Francisco legacy. And being such, it is not surprising they oppose a new apartment complex, but unless I am mistaken, it is not the complex itself, but the design, size, and especially height of planned project. The mayor approved it, which is why they are recalling her/him

Being so small, and a seemingly unified opposition of the community, there has to be a possible compromise unless the builders are obstinate with their designs

Hey, it’s San Francisco, or at least the mentality, burdened by schizophrenia, prides itself on being free and independent, but only if you are fire and independent in a manner they approve. If it were NY, the matter would have been ironed out legally before it began with both the community and builders losing big bucks to attorneys
Click to expand...
You’ve been to the Bay Area. BART runs through the East Bay, into the City, and down the Peninsula. Decades ago there were plans for it to go into Marin, but the locals blocked it. They did not want "outsiders" coming their direction.

It is the same dynamic with housing. “Local control” is a big buzzword in real estate and it usually means local governments can approve or block new development. Since so many cities block almost everything, the state stepped in and said they have to meet certain housing goals. Even with those rules, places like Fairfax still try to stop projects. Cities only want single family homes, and the problem is there is not enough land to meet the state mandates if that is all you build.

That is how we end up with these fights, even when the project is luxury multifamily. You’re spot on about California. We drag everything out at the local level and nothing ever moves forward. That is how we stay stuck.
 
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