Dozens of bills are being introduced in California that will spur new home building and weaken the stranglehold of homeowner groups.
Noah Smith of BloombergView chronicles the rise of NIMBYs. Longtime property owners have benefitted immensely when new industries move into town. Middle class homeowners in San Francisco, for instance, have seen their property values rise tremendously since the city became a tech scene.
The waves of new professionals need places to live, which enhanced the value of existing homes. That, Smith argues, influences NIMBYs to block new developments, which would lead to more housing but decrease the value of existing homes.
Several different resolutions are on the table, including property tax plans.
Making it easier to build housing, as California is now trying to do, is one response. Essentially, the attack on Nimby-ism represents an attempt to return to the older model of accommodating local economic booms by building more housing.
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