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The telling conservative backlash to a Virginia zoning reform proposal, explained
https://www.vox.com/2019/12/27/21039043/ibrahim-samirah-virginia-single-family-zoningIbraheem Samirah, a Democratic member of the Virginia House of Delegates who represents portions of DC suburbs in Fairfax and Loudon Counties, has an idea: legalize “duplex” houses on all residential land throughout the state.
The proposal, intended to ameliorate housing shortages, is similar to ideas recently adopted by several West Coast states. And it has provoked an immediate backlash — driven less by economic analysis than by defensiveness about the sense that suburban lifestyles are under attack.
Though the proposal is striking in its breadth, applying without exemption to all communities in Virginia, it’s actually modest in its practical implications when you peer under the hood. And again, it’s not the first of its kind: Oregon adopted a measure this past summer that eliminated exclusive single-family zoning across the bulk of the state. California has adopted a series of laws encouraging “accessory dwelling units” that accomplish something similar. And further proposals for statewide land use reform are now endemic on the West Coast.
But the Virginia push is also an important statement. Until Samirah introduced his bill, these ideas have not been a major part of the discussion in the expensive areas of the Northeast.
The proposal, intended to ameliorate housing shortages, is similar to ideas recently adopted by several West Coast states. And it has provoked an immediate backlash — driven less by economic analysis than by defensiveness about the sense that suburban lifestyles are under attack.
Though the proposal is striking in its breadth, applying without exemption to all communities in Virginia, it’s actually modest in its practical implications when you peer under the hood. And again, it’s not the first of its kind: Oregon adopted a measure this past summer that eliminated exclusive single-family zoning across the bulk of the state. California has adopted a series of laws encouraging “accessory dwelling units” that accomplish something similar. And further proposals for statewide land use reform are now endemic on the West Coast.
But the Virginia push is also an important statement. Until Samirah introduced his bill, these ideas have not been a major part of the discussion in the expensive areas of the Northeast.
