[traytonwhite]

This argument is so funny because it's true that owners make it, and the owners are narrow-mindedly mistaken. Right now in SF, a developer doesn't know if they'll be able to buy a single family home and replace it with a 3 story multifamily unit - even if the area is zoned for it. Because California doesn't have by right zoning, so anyone can just come along and get the project stopped.

Presumably, if a developer knows they'll be able to do whatever they can that's allowed in the zoning regulations, then the property value should increase even more as a significant risk has been removed.

[mac01021]

If there are 1 million such single-family houses, and replacing 200,000 of them with multifamily structures is sufficient to sate all the demand that is driving up costs, then that zoning reform seems like it will reduce the value of 80% of the homes in the area.