CA: A radical bid to empower NIMBYs - Bill could bring development in state to a halt (AB 528)

OC Register ^ | 5/31/05 | Op/Ed

[Busywhiskers]

I wish I could agree but my experience, both in a brief stint as a principal on a development project and as a planning commissioner, argues otherwise. What you are seeing is not weak land use laws but the unintended consequences of what occurs when Govment steps in with centralized planning. Urban growth boundaries artificially limit the supply of buildable land leading to ever small lots and ever higher prices. In that sense the developers and folks like "1000 Friends of Oregon", (a misnamed organization if there ever was one), are in cahoots. The developers because they can get more per sf of developed residential land and the anti-development folks because they think they get "land use efficiency".

The other dirty little secret is that urban growth boundaries also guarantee that some of the best farmland in the state will be urbanized. Not that I lose sleep at night over that because we there isn't exactly a shortage of farm or forest in this state. There is a shortage of affordable housing.

Now can someone tell me again why we do this comprehensive land use planning thing.

[Thom Pain]

"anything that is injurious to health, or is indecent or offensive to the senses."

More "extraordinary circumstances"???

[chimera]

Have a NIMBY/BANANA for a neighbor.

NIMBY
BANANA
NOPE
NOTE
LULU
NIMTOO

Did I forget any (we're not allowed to say B*F*, but that's what some of these people are)?

[OB1kNOb]

Just another example of Kaliphornia as the world's largest open air outdoor insane asylum.

[VeniVidiVici]

If it passes, ya'll can use it to sue every legislator involved in business development or trying to build their own house.