How broad should zoning go?
This week's contentious SJ City conversation on upzoning daylights a core question: is zoning a state-wide, county-wide, city-wide, or neighborhood-wide question? It's a debate that goes back to a 1926 Supreme Court decision upholding zoning in Arizona. Various voices continue to disagree, as the long Tuesday night debate revealed--from SJ electeds to academics:
“We’re being asked to essentially take a shortcut, a one-size-fits-all approach that treats the entire city as if every neighborhood is the same. It does not sit well with me."
--District 8 Councilmember Domingo Candelas
Read the whole thing here.
{From Reddit Urban Planning thread:}
"I was thinking about a system where instead of having distinct zoning categories, you could allow people to build whatever the neighbourhood average is +/- some buffer. So for example if your street has an average building height of 1.34 then you are allowed to build a house that is the average +1, so 2.34 rounded down gives you 2 stories.
"As soon as your street average ticks over 1.5 though then everyone in the street is allowed to build 3-story buildings. This would allow you to add density slowly and avoid situations where 20 story towers are next to single family homes."
--r/urbanplanning
Read the whole thing here.
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