"In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a major bill that allows apartment buildings near major transit stops. This has been a major goal of the state's housing reformers. Yet the new law is a complex animal with lots of staggered implementation dates and local flexibility built in. It'll be years before we have a real fix on how well it's working."
"Meanwhile, Texas, a new entrant in the field of state-level zoning reform, is also learning that the task of preempting local zoning rules is easier said than done. Earlier this year, the state Legislature passed a law allowing new apartments in nonresidential zones. Now, a growing list of cities there are attempting to undermine that reform by requiring that state-legal apartments come with expensive public art installations and Olympic-sized swimming pools."
"Virginia, localities have no authority to regulate abortion. But they do have pretty wide authority over zoning and land-use decisions. Conservative cities and counties that don't like the state's permissive abortion policy are now using their land-use powers to effectively ban the practice within their borders. As state news outlet Cardinal News reports in an in-depth story published Monday, the Lynchburg City Council will consider today a slew of new zoning restrictions on abortion clinics that would seem to amount to a de facto ban."
State-level zoning reforms often shift major policy battles from legislatures to local implementation. California enacted a law permitting apartment buildings near major transit stops, but the law includes staggered implementation dates and local flexibility that will delay assessment of its effectiveness. Texas passed a law allowing apartments in nonresidential zones, and some cities are responding by attaching costly requirements such as public art installations and Olympic-sized swimming pools to undermine development. Conservative localities in Virginia are using zoning and land-use authority to impose restrictions that functionally prevent abortion clinics from operating within their borders.
Read at Reason.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]