Post

Stephen Jacob Smith
@stephenjacobsmith.com

Great piece on the lackluster effects of California’s new housing laws. Legislators have finally challenged anti-density NIMBYism, but by loading on inclusionary zoning and wage requirements, they’ve made newly legal housing too costly to build www.theatlantic.com/economy/2026...

theatlantic.comThe Real Reason California Can’t BuildIn trying to accomplish every objective and accommodate every interest, all at once, the state set up its housing agenda to fail.
Doug King in San Jose
@dekgreen.bsky.social

Feels much too early to reach conclusions. We’re starting to see an uptick in projects around here. It was always going to take time, esp bc many municipalities were trying to find work-arounds, which created risk for developers/builders.

Barbara Samuels
@bsamuels72.bsky.social

Right, did peoplebin CA really expect to see a big uptick this soon? And in the midst of a global slump? Do really believe that zoning alone is the barrier to production, not macro economic conditions impacting feasibility?

Stephen Jacob Smith
@stephenjacobsmith.com

ADUs see a huge uptick in construction very quickly, because, like the article says, the state legislature did not impose any IZ or special labor requirements on them

0 reposts5 likes

Barbara Samuels
@bsamuels72.bsky.social

ADU’ are also a much smaller investment made by thousands of individuals. Not a project costing tens of millions requiring developers to find lenders and equity investors and personally guarantee loans—in the midst of global economic turmoil. Not an apt comparison.