Reply to APS: who is the best CB candidate on schools issues?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm surprised that people young enough to have kids in APS don't support MM. In my neighborhood,  the anti-MM are mostly elderly or people in bigass new builds who go private.[/quote]

Because young APS parents like me tend not to suffer as much from some common Boomer and Gen Xer afflictions: view homes as retirement accounts, fear of neighborhood change, anxiety over more neighbors, lack of faith in government’s ability to solve problems, and expectation that housing policy should be geared toward juicing property values. Perks of not growing up steeped in Reaganism?[/quote]

Millennial homeowner here. If I was only concerned about home value I’d be pro-missing middle.

I’m pro-affordable housing, not in favor of recklessly increasing population density with no plan for the impacts of it. [/quote]

What would non-recklessly increasing density look like to you? And how would you make housing more affordable?[/quote]

It's not what it would look like to me. This has been studied. you can look at some of the literature on google scholar and from nonprofits who advocate for various solutions.

But off the top of my head:

1. Increase gradually. Don't go from SFH to 8-plexes. Start with SFH to duplexes.
2. Increase first in areas that are already walkable. 
3. Increase overall walkability, including better public transportation, sidewalks, lower speed limits, speed bumps, and better intersections (non-pedestrian-friendly intersections can be fixed).
4. Mandate driveways or garages in new construction 
5. Build more housing that is actually affordable. The affordable housing units in this area have waiting lists that are what, a year long? 
6. Build more schools. This is hard because there is so little land in Arlington, but it can definitely be figured out. 
7. Make the current schools better. Hire more guidance counselors, increase lunch space, etc. 
8. Follow best practices to make sure that an increase in population density doesn't just mean gentrification. There are some more affordable housing options here, like duplexes, and we need to be sure those don't become expensive 8-plexes.

Now, all of this seems expensive? Yes! Yes it is! But if there isn't the money to increase walkability, they either need to find the money by cutting something else or just not increase population density so quickly. [/quote]

Agree with all of this. I think increased density is a good thing IFF it’s well thought-out. If the county had a good vision for missing middle - instead of leaving it up to the builders - then I’d fully support it.

And agree with a PP that builders have no overall vision or concern about community. The only way to address that is via zoning. No more Wild West zoning. Even for SFHs, reduce tree loss, oversized homes, etc. Greedy builders will put up the very cheapest specs homes they can get away with. 
[/quote]

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