Arlington "missing middle"

[Anonymous]

So where are all these kids going to go to school?

[Anonymous]

SFH is over in Arlington

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/03/22/arlington-missing-middle-vote-zoning/

I expect the same to happen in DC soon before Bowser leaves office

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So where are all these kids going to go to school?

Schools, parks, parking, and other shared resources are just supposed to be stretched. Those of us who are already here are supposed to sacrifice for the greater good. If you think there should be more thought put into the plan you’re a racist nimby.

[Anonymous]

Right at this moment, I truly hate Arlington. We chose to live here, raised a family here, have devoted so much time to this community. Between how they handled COVID and this, I am so mad. I could never live in a red state, but I am finding that it's pretty awful to live in the land of only blue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So where are all these kids going to go to school?

Schools, parks, parking, and other shared resources are just supposed to be stretched. Those of us who are already here are supposed to sacrifice for the greater good. If you think there should be more thought put into the plan you’re a racist nimby.

Developers always fight tooth and nail to avoid paying for infrastructure. Don’t let them get away with it. I’m happy to have growth but local governments shouldn’t suffer negative budget impacts when their jurisdictions grow. When they do, it’s a subsidy, and it’s almost always a subsidy for very wealthy or moderately wealthy people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So where are all these kids going to go to school?

Schools, parks, parking, and other shared resources are just supposed to be stretched. Those of us who are already here are supposed to sacrifice for the greater good. If you think there should be more thought put into the plan you’re a racist nimby.

Developers always fight tooth and nail to avoid paying for infrastructure. Don’t let them get away with it. I’m happy to have growth but local governments shouldn’t suffer negative budget impacts when their jurisdictions grow. When they do, it’s a subsidy, and it’s almost always a subsidy for very wealthy or moderately wealthy people.

Elect a slate of officials who run solely on requiring developers to pay infrastructure surcharges. I bet they will win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So where are all these kids going to go to school?

Schools, parks, parking, and other shared resources are just supposed to be stretched. Those of us who are already here are supposed to sacrifice for the greater good. If you think there should be more thought put into the plan you’re a racist nimby.

That really is it. I spent the last 30 years paying taxes to a county so they could serve and build all the public Arl. Co. infratsructure we enjoy today. This was based on the current and projected population growth.

This is none of that. This is a shortcut to the front of the line for complete newcomers and the 'revenue challenged'. Who benefits? The people who did nothing to work to live in these neighborhoods, the builders, and the pols in bed with them.

If you think this is for the better good, you really and truly are an actual...and literal imbecile.

They will turn on you too one day.

Is your arm tired from patting yourself on the back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MM is a solution looking for a problem.

Building 6-plex apartments on single family lots isn't the solution. Arlington has plenty of apartments. What everyone wants is a single family home in Arlington but just can't afford it. So, sorry, but that's the way the free market works.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/651-S-Greenbrier-St-Arlington-VA-22204/12090510_zpid/

This is $820k. Are the proposed duplexes and THs really going to be priced lower than that?

Well, most people don't want a house in that condition. (You can argue that people should want to take the time to buy old properties and fix them up, but it is a nightmare dealing with contractors in this area, so I get why people don't want to do it.)

But the PP is right -- there are tons of apartments and condos. I recently thought about renting in Arlington, and there were tons of options everywhere, and as you got further from metro (where MM housing would be), the rents went down significantly and there were even more empty units. I also looked at condos, and there were many condos in great condition for under $400K. It's just unclear to me what option is missing in the market that MM provides.

"In that condition" what?

If it's actually unclear to you, then you haven't been listening to anything anybody has said in support of the missing-middle housing proposal.

Yeah, that house might get sold to a builder, though the sloped back lot might prevent that from happening. Otherwise, people don't want pink bathrooms, old kitchens, and wood-paneled walls.

And I guess it is unclear to me. Nothing about MM has been clear; it's been an exercise in obfuscation which is why a bunch of nonprofit-working apartment dwellers think it will get them affordable townhouses.

WTAF. We are destroying the fabric of our neighborhoods because people can’t live with pink bathrooms for a spell till they can swap out the fixtures and retile?

It’s actually a stated goal of the YIMBYs to destroy the fabric of SFH neighborhoods and to not only create “affordable” housing, but to bring down the values of existing homes in those neighborhoods. The destruction of property values isn’t a bug. To them, it’s a feature.

If you doubt it, please just do a little of your own research into their groups.

Yup, it is. I think the value of your home is super inflated. So much wealth is being pushed to the top and you think that is fair?

Get a grip NIMBY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SFH is over in Arlington

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/03/22/arlington-missing-middle-vote-zoning/

I expect the same to happen in DC soon before Bowser leaves office

That's ok. There's nothing inherently sacred about a one-unit detached residential building, especially not in the central parts of large urban areas. People need housing. Housing is for people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MM is a solution looking for a problem.

Building 6-plex apartments on single family lots isn't the solution. Arlington has plenty of apartments. What everyone wants is a single family home in Arlington but just can't afford it. So, sorry, but that's the way the free market works.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/651-S-Greenbrier-St-Arlington-VA-22204/12090510_zpid/

This is $820k. Are the proposed duplexes and THs really going to be priced lower than that?

Maybe they will, maybe they won't, but at minimum, there will be more of them. And we know the relationship between supply, demand, and price. That's the way the free market works, right?

Yes, we do. More supply invites more demand.

NIMBY logic at its finest.

I don't know how you can spout this nonsense with a straight face. Just take the mask off, embrace it. "I don't want to build anything because I got mine and screw everyone else."

So you’re just going to ignore the post literally right above you?

Induced demand is a thing. It applies to building highways. It applies to building homes.

Induced demand is, indeed, a thing. When it applies to highways, it means that more highway capacity leads to more drivers and more driving. This is bad because (a) widening highways costs a lot of money but doesn't increase mobility, and (b) more driving is really bad for the environment and the planet. On the other hand, when it applies to housing, it might (depending) mean that more housing leads to more people with housing. Is this bad? It is if you don't want more people and more housing. It's good policy for urban areas, though.

[Anonymous]

How about as a thought experiment we see if the net effect of this is to raise or lower the price of houses in Arlington? My bet is on raising. Tearing down a 900K house and building three 1.1 million townhomes does not solve an affordability crisis. Plus the price of land just jumped considerably.

Also for fun, will this make Arlington more or less diverse? My bet is on less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about as a thought experiment we see if the net effect of this is to raise or lower the price of houses in Arlington? My bet is on raising. Tearing down a 900K house and building three 1.1 million townhomes does not solve an affordability crisis. Plus the price of land just jumped considerably.

Also for fun, will this make Arlington more or less diverse? My bet is on less.

Oh sure, it is well known that when you increase the supply of something, the price goes up.

Wait, what?

[Anonymous]

Teachers won’t be able to afford these duplexes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about as a thought experiment we see if the net effect of this is to raise or lower the price of houses in Arlington? My bet is on raising. Tearing down a 900K house and building three 1.1 million townhomes does not solve an affordability crisis. Plus the price of land just jumped considerably.

Also for fun, will this make Arlington more or less diverse? My bet is on less.

Oh sure, it is well known that when you increase the supply of something, the price goes up.

Wait, what?

What you are missing is the old Arlington real estate market is now dead. Every single lot in Arlington just got a lot more $$$. Before you could build one house. Now you can build 6. Some lots will now be worth double what they were before. Wait and see. This is not going to make the market more affordable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about as a thought experiment we see if the net effect of this is to raise or lower the price of houses in Arlington? My bet is on raising. Tearing down a 900K house and building three 1.1 million townhomes does not solve an affordability crisis. Plus the price of land just jumped considerably.

Also for fun, will this make Arlington more or less diverse? My bet is on less.

Oh sure, it is well known that when you increase the supply of something, the price goes up.

Wait, what?

What you are missing is the old Arlington real estate market is now dead. Every single lot in Arlington just got a lot more $$$. Before you could build one house. Now you can build 6. Some lots will now be worth double what they were before. Wait and see. This is not going to make the market more affordable.

So the number of housing units that can be put on a lot will increase sixfold, while the price of the lot only doubles, but that won't make more units more affordable for more people? Huh.