Reply to Overriding local zoning to allow multi-family units in suburban neighborhoods in VA

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]He can put as many duplexes as he wants in McLean. Won’t change the fact that poor people will not be able to afford them. All those extra units will go to young, upper class DINKS. They’ll get a leg up in the housing ladder and build enough equity to move on to a SFH. Go for it.[/quote]

This. I’ve worked my entire legal career in affordable housing/ section 8 funding/ multi family.  The above scenario is exactly what will happen.  In order to provide more affordable and work force housing, you need a HUD or other government program.  There is just 0 incentive or profit for private developers, even with tax credits.  And with the amazon affect, there is even more 0 chance that any duplexs in the future built in single family lots in Arlington/ Alexandria/ McLean/ Falls Church, etc won’t be UMC or higher price point.

Developers are pushing this idea.  And then you will start to see individuals try to be their own developer, turning a house into a duplex/ condo situation.  And they aren’t going to FARM families. [/quote]

OK, so - they will increase the supply of housing, in areas where people want to live. Why would that be bad?[/quote]

The premise was that this law would increase the volume of affordable housing (at least that’s the argument being given by the mayor in Alexandria where I live). So the basis for the entire policy is completely false and misleading.

From an urban planning perspective there are tons of reasons why you cannot just blanket increase housing because more people want to live there.  I highly doubt individual developers will be providing proffers to local municipalities to help offset the strain added to the streets, the schools, the infrastructure, the first responder forces, social services, utilities, parking, etc.  In somewhere like Alexandria where the public school system is already overstrained, overpopulated and just a mess, the traffic is a mess, that has only one hospital (that is pretty subpar), where crime seems regular, etc. just packing in more housing without smartly addressing urban planning first is just a huge nightmare/mistake.

Read up on urban planning and then come back on this thread. [/quote]

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