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Midat Sodom And The Housing Affordability Crisis, Michael Lewyn Feb 2019

Midat Sodom And The Housing Affordability Crisis, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Ancient Jewish texts states that the city of Sodom was overthrown because of its hostility to hospitality. Today, American cities often limit new housing; is this policy analogous to midat Sodom (Hebrew for "the ways of Sodom")? What arguments justify these policies, and what counter-arguments are relevant to those arguments?


Planetizen Blog Posts- First Half Of 2019, Michael Lewyn Dec 2018

Planetizen Blog Posts- First Half Of 2019, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Op-ed length articles on various land use-related issues.


Do You Believe In Ghost Apartments?, Michael Lewyn Dec 2018

Do You Believe In Ghost Apartments?, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

According to the popular press, expensive cities are being overrun by "ghost apartments"- condominiums owned by wealthy foreigners, but used as investments rather than being rented out to local residents. This article points out that such apartments are in fact a very small percentage of housing supply, even in some cities that are supposedly overran with such condos.

More importantly, the existence of new “ghost apartments” does not justify exclusionary zoning policies. If a city popular with foreign investors discourages construction of new housing, investors are likely to purchase older housing units, outbidding local residents for those units. In this …


Threading The Needle Of Fair Housing Law In A Gentrifying City With A Legacy Of Discrimination, Tim Iglesias Dec 2017

Threading The Needle Of Fair Housing Law In A Gentrifying City With A Legacy Of Discrimination, Tim Iglesias

Tim Iglesias

This essay tells the story of an extended and complex conflict between San Francisco and HUD and the creative solution that emerged from their negotiations. The conflict concerned the application of a community preference to a proposed senior housing development that would be located in a traditional African American neighborhood in San Francisco and its potential violation of federal fair housing law. After a brief background discussion of some of the policy and legal issues raised by community preferences, the essay tells the story of the conflict and its resolution. The essay concludes with reflections on the potential value of …


California Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Inclusionary Zoning As Land Use Regulation And Not An Exaction, Tim Iglesias Aug 2015

California Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Inclusionary Zoning As Land Use Regulation And Not An Exaction, Tim Iglesias

Tim Iglesias

Local governments, housing advocates, and people who need affordable housing won a solid victory in the California Supreme Court's unanimous opinion in California Bldg. Indus. Ass'n v. City of San Jose. In a complex 64-page opinion that is clearly drafted and rigorously argued, the court held that inclusionary zoning is a constitutionally permissible strategy to produce affordable housing and to promote economic integration that is subject to rational basis review and not heightened scrutiny.

This article outlines the factual and legal background of the case and discusses the court's reasoning in reaching its decision, including the court's refusal to find …


The Promises And Pitfalls Of Micro-Housing, Tim Iglesias Oct 2014

The Promises And Pitfalls Of Micro-Housing, Tim Iglesias

Tim Iglesias

This is a primer on the new and growing phenomenon of micro-housing. It defines micro-housing, discusses policy arguments and outlines regulatory issues.


A Room Of One's Own? Accessory Dwelling Unit Reforms And Local Parochialism, Margaret F. Brinig, Nicole Stelle Garnett Nov 2013

A Room Of One's Own? Accessory Dwelling Unit Reforms And Local Parochialism, Margaret F. Brinig, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Nicole Stelle Garnett

Over the past decade, a number of state and local governments have amended land use regulations to permit the accessory dwelling units (“ADUs”) on single-family lots. Measured by raw numbers of reforms, the campaign to secure legal reforms permitting ADUs appears to be a tremendous success. The question remains, however, whether these reforms overcome the well-documented land-use parochialism that has, for decades, represented a primary obstacle to increasing the supply of affordable housing. In order to understand more about their actual effects, this Article examines ADU reforms in a context which ought to predict a minimal level of local parochialism. …


A Room Of One's Own? Accessory Dwelling Unit Reforms And Local Parochialism, Margaret F. Brinig, Nicole Stelle Garnett Oct 2013

A Room Of One's Own? Accessory Dwelling Unit Reforms And Local Parochialism, Margaret F. Brinig, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Margaret F Brinig

Over the past decade, a number of state and local governments have amended land use regulations to permit the accessory dwelling units (“ADUs”) on single-family lots. Measured by raw numbers of reforms, the campaign to secure legal reforms permitting ADUs appears to be a tremendous success. The question remains, however, whether these reforms overcome the well-documented land-use parochialism that has, for decades, represented a primary obstacle to increasing the supply of affordable housing. In order to understand more about their actual effects, this Article examines ADU reforms in a context which ought to predict a minimal level of local parochialism. …


Where Will The Baby Boomers Go? Planning And Zoning For An Aging Population, Patricia E. Salkin May 2013

Where Will The Baby Boomers Go? Planning And Zoning For An Aging Population, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

The article discusses the subject of land use planning and zoning for an aging community.


Framing Inclusionary Zoning: Exploring The Legality Of Local Inclusionary Zoning And Its Potential To Meet Affordable Housing Needs, Tim Iglesias Dec 2012

Framing Inclusionary Zoning: Exploring The Legality Of Local Inclusionary Zoning And Its Potential To Meet Affordable Housing Needs, Tim Iglesias

Tim Iglesias

Whether local inclusionary zoning (IZ) ordinances can make significant contributions towards meeting affordable housing needs depends in large part on its legality. Courts have not developed a consistent jurisprudence regarding IZ ordinances. The legality of IZ ordinances depends upon how they are framed by the governments who enact them, the opponents who challenge them, and the courts that decide the cases. After a brief introduction, this article explores why framing is possible and likely in judicial review of IZ as well as why it matters. Next, the article analyzes the case law to demonstrate how framing has operated to affect …


A Quiet Crisis In America: Meeting The Affordable Housing Needs Of The Invisible Low-Income Healthy Seniors, Patricia E. Salkin Jul 2012

A Quiet Crisis In America: Meeting The Affordable Housing Needs Of The Invisible Low-Income Healthy Seniors, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

Part I of this article discusses population statistics in greater detail, exploring available financial demographics of seniors and showing that many seniors are likely to be in need of affordable housing today, and that many more will likely join this group in the future. Part II discusses the role of the federal and state governments in providing affordable senior housing and concludes that these programs have typically failed to yield effective results on a wide enough basis. Part III focuses on the impact that local governments can have immediately in helping to address the affordable senior housing crisis through the …


Affordable Housing: Update On Federal And State Activities, Patricia E. Salkin Jul 2012

Affordable Housing: Update On Federal And State Activities, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

No abstract provided.


Smart Growth At Century’S End: The State Of The States, Patricia E. Salkin Jul 2012

Smart Growth At Century’S End: The State Of The States, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

No abstract provided.


The Fair Housing Act, Zoning, And Affordable Housing, Patricia E. Salkin, John M. Armentano Jul 2012

The Fair Housing Act, Zoning, And Affordable Housing, Patricia E. Salkin, John M. Armentano

Patricia E. Salkin

No abstract provided.


Blue Moonlight Rising: Evictions, Alternative Accommodation And A Comparative Perspective On Affordable Housing Solutions In Johannesburg, Gerald Dickinson Dec 2010

Blue Moonlight Rising: Evictions, Alternative Accommodation And A Comparative Perspective On Affordable Housing Solutions In Johannesburg, Gerald Dickinson

Gerald S. Dickinson

The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality v Blue Moonlight Properties 39 (Pty) Ltd and Another (338/10) [2011] ZASCA 47 (30 March 2011) is a welcomed addition to the eviction jurisprudence in South Africa. Courts have jostled for years with the question of whether socio-economic rights should be enforced in the context of adequate housing and evictions. Today, the central questions in comparative constitutional law now deal with how courts should enforce such rights. In other words, what are the remedies for violations of socio-economic rights? The usual proposed remedies are coercive orders aimed at guaranteeing occupiers the denied rights directly, …


Unintended Consequences: Eminent Domain And Affordable Housing, Matthew J. Parlow Dec 2005

Unintended Consequences: Eminent Domain And Affordable Housing, Matthew J. Parlow

Matthew Parlow

The continuing controversy regarding Kelo v. City of New London demonstrates that there are a number of problems and tensions associated with eminent domain that entice scholars. This article addresses one such problem: the singular link between eminent domain and affordable housing. Though rarely discussed, this link reveals a long history of cities' use of their eminent domain power to advance development projects that rarely include affordable housing. Moreover, when cities condemn property through eminent domain to further new development projects, they often do so in a manner that undermines many of the goals of building more affordable housing. As …