Over the past 30 years, many communities have repurposed zoning laws into increasingly prohibitive measures on new home development, stifling affordability.
Dartmouth College economics professor Bill Fischel explains people are quite vocal about what they don't want in their community, but as Realtor.com reports, some communities have put subtle rules in place about requiring greater lot sizes, meaning homes built need to be bigger and more expensive, "essentially dictating who can afford to live there." The cost doesn't stop there. Government regulations at all levels accounted for 24.3 percent of the final price of a new single-family home, per a 2016 NAHB report. The median price of a new home was 21.1 percent more than the existing home median.
The housing crisis [in California] led state Sen. Scott Wiener to introduce a bill, SB 827, that would have allowed apartment and condo buildings up to five stories near public transit stops. "Historically, we've told each community, 'Do what you want.' We have allowed cities to impose dramatic zoning restrictions," Wiener says. "I respect that people want their neighborhoods to stay the way they are ... but if your kids can't come back to their communities after college because there's nowhere to live and there are people living in cars, that's a problem."
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