PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT | Pro-housing policies are popular, despite public comments
Leaders should be skeptical of temperature-taking at public meetings
Written By Dan Bock
Attend any local planning commission or city council meeting about a new development, and you might get the impression that building housing is decidedly unpopular. Neighbors often speak of how new developments will affect traffic, destroy trees, ruin their views, and alter their neighborhood’s character. As it turns out, these meeting participants are not representative of the community at large.
In Durham, the 2018 Resident Survey asked which housing issues should be top priorities. 60 percent of people said adequate supply of housing should be a top priority. Only 36 percent said neighborhood character should be.
In 2017, Measure S was a high-profile Los Angeles ballot initiative that would have imposed a moratorium on housing development. It was expected to be a close vote but was rejected by voters 70-30.
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Along the same lines, in 2019, Proposition E in San Francisco passed with nearly 75 percent of the vote, making it easier for developers to build high-density, affordable housing.
In a 2019 statewide poll, California showed big majorities in favor of the state mandating that cities change their zoning to allow more dense housing.
Finally, in 2022, a Seattle opinion poll showed a surprising 55 percent of people supported eliminating single-family zoning, allowing apartment buildings in neighborhoods that currently have only single-family homes.
Public comment at any city land use planning meeting is always a tiny percentage of the city’s population, and it’s not a randomly selected or representative sample. City leaders who are interested in reflecting the will of the community would be wise to support policies that allow for more housing.
Dan Bock is a web and mobile app developer in Durham, NC. @danbock10