[mjevans]

This is my major problem as a renter in the US. The minimum code really is too minimum. The city ordinances also enforce high limits on walls in ways that preserve a baby boomer childhood era view of suburbs.

It'd suck less if it felt like E.G. noise and environmental pollution ordinances were ever enforced. (Break up those parties and stop people from doing trash burns / crappy fires during burn bans which are pretty much always...)

[Schiendelman]

If we relaxed our zoning, your low quality apartment would be much cheaper, and you would be able to afford something better.

[mjevans]

I do strongly agree about specific kinds of relaxing.

  * Clear and concise approvals process
  * No more NIMBY BS
  * Impact based assessment (similar to Japans)
  * Possibly goals to encourage desired types of use (but not hard LIMIT beyond disallowed!)

While at the same time, the quality of built items should be increased. That is the minimum code should reflect a value that produces a good quality of life for those in the buildings at a reasonable expenditure of resources over the lifetime of the building.

[Schiendelman]

Generally, deregulation in housing would lead directly to improved quality. Right now, almost all new housing is built to minimum building code, because we are so supply constrained that there's no incentive to differentiate.

If you allow anyone to build (aka if you let people build on their land even if they're next to houses), you create space for quality differentiation in the market.

Note: land use code and building code are almost always different parts of law. You can simply delete land use code without having any impact on building quality.