[jmyeet]

I think this article overstates the risks to those wanting to use the builder's remedy. It suggests wealthy towns would have the means to fight this in court. But the reality is the towns have very little legal defense. Just last year, 4000+ new units were approved via the builder's remedy in Santa Monica, a rich envlcave of LA that has notoriously fought development with oppressive zoning for decades.

Also, the point isn't to build giant high rises in the middle of Los Altos. It is to bypass restrictive zoning that doesn't let you build anything at all other than single family houses on large lots. In a lot of Bay Area towns that will be townhouses and low-rise apartments. But this can make a massive difference to the local housing markets.

The builder's remedy is just one of many measures the state has passed in recent years. Others include automatic approval for building residential above commercial and bypassing zoning for lots with wide rights of way. It all adds up.

Another aspect to this is just because you have an approved project, as a builder, it doesn't mean you have to build it. It does give you a hell of a bargaining chip with the city over something else you want to build however.

All these Bay Area NIMBY enclaves have been fucking around and I imagine a large number of them are about to find out.

This week a viral video tour of a high school in Carmel, IN has been circulating [1]. For those who don't understand, particularly non-Americans, schools are funded primarily by local property taxes. This means wealthy towns have facilities like this and poorer communities have buildings that are falling apart.

This is economic segregation.

A lot of wealthy towns in CA have been fighting state housing mandates because they want to maintain their "character". This includes some ultra-wealthy towns like Atherton.

One reason I support what CA is doing here is because by allowing a mix of accomodation it will increase access to facilities like this beyond just the ultra-wealthy.

[1]: https://www.insider.com/carmel-high-school-tour-tiktok-publi...

[jeffbee]

I think it's overstating the case that 4000 units were "approved" in Santa Monica. Some guy pulled papers on the project. Get back to me if any of them break ground. So far, only 899 units worth have filed complete applications and zero of these have got anywhere in the rest of the process. I would not advise holding your breath.

Cities have various ways to stop projects. They can drag out things like demolition permits forever.

[jjeaff]

I'm not sure how the funding formula works exactly, but it seems like the problem is far from fixed. You can look at any public school in a wealthy suburb and it will have lavish amenities and everything a student could want or need. While many inner city schools look like cinderblock prisons.

[toast0]

> For those who don't understand, particularly non-Americans, schools are funded primarily by local property taxes.

This was true historically, and may still be true in some states, but court cases since the 1970s [1] have been forcing reforms on school funding to be more equitable at the state level.

[1] https://edeq.stanford.edu/sections/section-4-lawsuits/landma...

[lokar]

Los Altos did not zone hundreds of thousands of jobs without housing, Mountain View and San Francisco did that.

[isignal]

Majority of folks in Los Altos are workers in those jobs.