| The problems mentioned in the article certainly are not unique to SF, though the scale is pretty large. Sidney, MT, which is in the Bakken oilfield, has such a shortage of housing that workers there spent last winter sleeping in campers and trucks on the side of the road. In the winter, the temperature can dip to -30 degrees. The dept of transportation (DOT) bottled up a housing projected for almost a year over a right of way dispute. In this case the developer agreed to pay for the improvements, but the DOT insisted on overseeing the process, which increased the cost 2x. In my experience: 1. Homeowners fear change because they usually like their neighborhood, have most of their assets "at stake", and envision worst case scenarios. 2. Too many elected officials categorize themselves into a soundbite. They don't just campaign by the soundbite, but they govern by it. Project details and reality be damned, I'm pro-parks! 3. Top municipal employees almost always have too much power. When a new elected official comes in, they listen to his/her goals and then put new processes in place, while seldom removing old processes. This adds unreasonable amounts of time, complexity and cost to projects. The first and second problem can frequently be worked out but the third problem is crippling. If you want to fix the housing crisis, start there. |