For decades, smart economists have watned that inclusionary zoning (such as SJ has) acts a hidden tax on new construction, raising market-rate prices, and slowing down the overall supply of housing. SF seems to be seeing the light. Mission Local explains, below.
But not so much about state-, county- or city-wide fiscal realities. For good reason. Peter Verbica explains.
Families and Homes SJ suggests that the city's vast "Missing Middle" zoning recommendation is a leap in the dark--characterized by lots of wishful thinking and unproven assumptions.
Transit tax boosters’ own internal pollster warns the initiative’s small polling lead (54-46) relies on “soft support.” This means the onerous sales tax hike has an extremely narrow track to victory and, if historic trends hold, could be headed off the rails. Research from the Public Policy Institute of California points to four reasons why the race looks to be so close, below.
According to citywide neighborhood group Families and Homes, SJ’s greatest long-term planning challenge is not simply a housing shortage—it's an imbalance between housing and jobs. While the proposed Missing Middle program would add significant residential capacity, it does not include a strategy to create the employment needed to support that growth. The result could be greater fiscal strain on an already financially constrained city.
California’s tax system is designed with a measure of humanity, diverting money back to low-income, working-class families. But a local sales tax for transit on the ballot in five Bay Area counties this November will punish the region’s poorest, with no rebates or any other kind of offset to ameliorate a sudden jump in prices on almost everything. Below are three ways the regressive transit tax hurts the least deserving.
The town known for single-family homes on spacious acre-lots could soon see a 30-unit townhome development. The Glenwood Avenue project relies on a new state law which allows multifamily housing near transit stops.
Families and Homes examines potential environmental impacts of the “Missing Middle” Planning Commission recommendation.
