Gregory's Server@Daojoan
@Angle
Allowing houses to become distributed hotels via "vacation rental" use (or "STR", short term rental) has locked up a significant share of existing dwelling units. Some communities have tens or hundreds of thousands of units no longer available for permanent housing. Why build new at enormous cost when the supply already exists?
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 @mizblueprint @Daojoan And whatever laws you pass, you can expect them to run up against this basic reality. The wealthy and powerful want what they want, they don't give a damn about anyone else, and their desires will distort everything they can reach. The law, the market, the media, you name it. So, pass a law banning short term rentals, and I expect you'll start seeing loopholes, exceptions, workarounds, and just flat out lack of enforcement immediately, as long as the money demands it. :/ @mizblueprint @Daojoan As a friend points out though, we don't have a lot of other options. It's either try and pass laws, give up, or resort to extra-legal action - which probably means a breakdown in law and order that the rich will be most able to take advantage of... :/ @mizblueprint @Daojoan I suppose there's always the option of 'venture out into the wilderness to build a new society from scratch'? But that kinda requires resources and organization, and if we had that, we probably wouldn't need to do it... XD The ultimate goal (I believe) is to create a prison slave-labor class to replace the lower working class. What better way to accomplish this than outlawing homelessness and making housing totally out of reach economically. @pamleo65 @mizblueprint @Daojoan I don't think they've thought it through that much. Just a million instances of people being selfish and stupid. @pamleo65 @mizblueprint @Daojoan It doesn't really make a difference - that system isn't going to scale well. It's just a question of how miserable things get, and when. :/ @Angle @pamleo65 @Daojoan @mizblueprint @pamleo65 @Daojoan I went poking around Napa on street view - it looks like it really shouldn't be that hard to build lots more housing there, if people really wanted to. Wide roads, huge parking lots, vast swathes of single family homes, etc, etc. Same as much of the rest of America. Building can be expensive, sure - but that itself is amenable to change, if people really want to change it. @mizblueprint @pamleo65 @Daojoan Like most things, building gets cheaper if you do it in bulk. A small initial change in how expensive and difficult it is to build things can have outsized impact, as it ripples outwards and changes how much people build, which itself changes how easy it is to build things. Has your city ever considered dropping parking requirements, for example? Loosening zoning laws? Any of the dozens of simple and straightforwards reforms to just let people build? @Angle In the City of Napa, the last two General Plans have increased zoning densities. There are over the counter plan reviews now for most residential construction. Back to my point about short term rentals & housing supply, it is still very expensive to build new housing units, and much more cost effective to preserve existing dwellings. @Angle @mizblueprint @pamleo65 @Daojoan I’ve been through Napa a few times, when I lived in Sonoma County (to the west). Your impression from Street View is correct. But it is surrounded by vineyards, many of which are run by “lifestyle vintners,” who want their chalets and their labels and everything except good wine. And they have money, lots and lots and lots of money. @Angle @Daojoan @Angle @mizblueprint @Daojoan Oh huh, neat! Has there been a study on the effects? Of the cities that have done this, how effectively have they actually managed to prevent the practice, and how much has it reduced housing prices? @Angle @Daojoan |
@mizblueprint @Daojoan Mmm. I'm not entirely sure this problem can be solved by just passing laws, at least not unless you're willing to pass a lot of them. Like, the underlying problem here is that a small number of people has such a concentration of wealth and power that their minor conveniences and luxuries (Vacation Homes and short term rentals) are valued above other peoples basic necessities (Having a house to live in).