"Are we trying to do nothing? Because it seems like we're doing nothing," a Marblehead resident remarked, drawing laughter from the crowd. His comments reflected frustration over the new zoning plan's limitations.
North Carolina lawmakers once again will try to pass statewide housing reform in a Tar Heel State push to catch up with several of its own cities. Several bills on the agenda this session prioritize housing affordability. They would preempt local control on parking, housing types, and permitting timelines. The measures would apply to all of North Carolina's districts the same types of reforms that cities such as Raleigh and Durham have already codified.
Until the early years of the 1900s, the city's ability to make certain decisions was curtailed by the province, like choosing where businesses went and what kinds of commercial uses could happen on which plots of land. As a result, those living in the muddy, burgeoning city of 19th century Toronto experienced a mix of business and residential buildings that present-day Torontonians haven't seen for decades.
The argument: The city used an environmental impact report done for the 2022 Housing Element of the General Plan to fulfill the requirements that the upzoning undergo review under the California Environmental Quality Act. The Yimby movement hates CEQA, but the law exists for a very good reason: Before any major project that could impact the environment gets approval, the public has the right to know what those impacts might be.
The Family Zoning Plan applies to nearly 96,000 parcels primarily along transit corridors in the city's western and northern neighborhoods. It does not upzone universally across the city, and avoids parts of the city's eastern and southern neighborhoods that have been rezoned in the past. The plan allows for increases of two to four additional stories in specific areas, primarily near transit lines or other commercial corridors.
Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 9 a.m.: The Landmarks Preservation Commission will vote on the designation of two proposed historic districts in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood: the proposed Beverley Square West Historic District and the proposed Ditmas Park West Historic District. . Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 10:30 a.m.: The NYC Council's Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet regarding land use applications for: 1720 Atlantic Avenue Rezoning, MTA 125th and Lexington Rezoning, and 1551 Broadway. .
The Board of Supes, by a 8-2 vote, just undid decades of careful planning work in North Beach and the surrounding neighborhoods, opening the path for larger storefronts and bigger businesses and less diversity in the local shops. District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter pitched his deregulation bill as a way to address vacant storefronts, but his critics, including businesses like City Lights Books, Tony's Pizza and Spec's, say the neighborhood is thriving, and this is a solution in search of a problem.
The Commission upheld an appeal against the decision of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to refuse planning permission for the construction of a 12-metre swimming pool and jacuzzi in the grounds of the large garden of Sorrento House on Sorrento Terrace, Dalkey, Co Dublin. The small, terraced row of eight four-storey Victorian houses with panoramic views over Killiney Bay command some of the highest residential property prices in the Republic.
Flynn filed a measure this week that would amend the city's zoning code in order to make adult entertainment businesses in those neighborhoods a "conditional use" rather than an "allowed use." An amendment like this should have been made "decades ago," Flynn said, so that adult entertainment establishments must undergo a significant community review process before being approved. "Residents of a neighborhood deserve a say in what takes place there.
This proposal doesn't just threaten my business; it threatens hundreds of horses and the families who care for them," Flippo said. "If horses are pushed out of agriculture zoning, they could be displaced into unsafe living situations and an important part of our rural heritage will be lost.
A teardown house is a property where the land value outweighs the structure. These homes are often outdated, damaged, or too costly to renovate. Buyers - usually investors, builders, or developers- purchase teardown homes to demolish and rebuild. The National Association of Home Builders reports that teardowns accounted for nearly 7% of all single-family housing starts in 2022. This shows strong demand for redevelopment opportunities in competitive markets.
The new ordinance updates eligibility and licensing requirements and sets a new timeline for enforcement. Obligations for short-term rental (STR) platforms like Airbnb and VRBO such as requiring license numbers in listings and honoring delist notices, will now take effect July 1, 2026 - two months later than originally proposed. Other provisions, including licensing reforms and operator responsibilities, take effect Oct. 1, 2025.
My wife and I, our son and daughter, and my in-laws share a single house in the Long Island suburbs. Our place is big, but crowded: all of us have hobbies, and so every shelf or surface contains toys, books, art supplies, sporting goods, craft projects, cameras, musical instruments, or kitchen gadgets. Before the table can be set for dinner, it must be cleared of a board game or marble run.
In the book you're talking about, in that kind of mindset anyways, we have all these subsidies that go towards, you know, extending the subway, the utilities, but also that it's kind of like some gasoline is put on, during the New Deal, but also afterwards when you get all of the HOLC loans and the FHA and all these subsidies to homeownership, right?
Zoning can be used in many ways by owners, investors and developers to add value to their properties. First, as we have previously discussed, there are discretionary approvals available through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). One type of discretionary approval through ULURP is a rezoning, which would change the property's zoning district designation. A rezoning could increase the amount of buildable square footage a property is allowed, and/or change the allowed use altogether, for example, from commercial or industrial to residential.
City staff recommended against the zoning change, arguing that the proposed LI-PDA zoning wasn't merited by the site's needs and would be inappropriate. They suggested using the controversial DB90 district instead.
