Newsom abolishes CA single-family zoning

Good, let the free market decide what should be built where. Don't let factories be shoved next to houses to prevent environmental contamination, but other than that, the governments job should be to set standards so buildings are safe and waterways are protected.

Also irritating, minimum set backs and parking requirements. Let people choose if they want to pay for parking, and remember that building a parking spot in a city can add 30k to the price of a condo/townhome!

Now loosen up codes to ensure safety but allow more freedom of design!

One thing I'd like to see though is denser housing that still supports families. The modern trend of super narrow 4 story townhomes only works for people under 40, and I can't imagine having a baby and needing to go up 2 flights of stairs to get anything done.

I've seen older town home/condo complexes with good layouts, but everything new seems to be of the super narrow lots of stairs variety, I wonder why.

This is the first step, the restricted house rules with file lawsuits, appeal, use delaying tactics etc. In truth - builds more, denser housing and prices will indeed go down. A lost of people will find their financial structure is made of sand - they will be paying interest on mortgages worth ~~ twice or anyway, a lot more than their house is worth. Mortgage holders were aware of this, so they built hooks into their mortgages that follow you for life - unless you go bankrupt and the mortgage holders and other debt holders worry at the bones that are left. Sad, but that is the end case of these nimby policies.

Good news. The next step is to improve the frequency and coverage of public transit to accommodate the greater housing density.

Express electric bus networks in dedicated lanes might be a good place to start.

Earlier:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28559517 (106 points/15 hours ago/125 comments)