Town of Butner’s Post

I'm excited to share this new UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies report, published in partnership with the Terner Center, exploring some of the tradeoffs involved in the use of inclusionary zoning (IZ) policies to meet affordable housing goals. There's a lot of pressure to meet affordable housing goals, but limited tools for doing so. IZ is often seen as a solution, but the challenges of studying IZ empirically leave policymakers with very little guidance on how to think about it. This is not an empirical study, but my hope is that the conceptual approach taken here helps identify and clarify the costs and benefits of IZ. It's a starting point for deeper conversations, not the final word. Summarizing the analysis and some findings: 1. I used the Terner Housing Policy Simulator to model market-rate and below-market housing production through the City of LA's Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) program, with inclusionary zoning requirements ranging from 0% to 40%. 2. All else equal, IZ always reduces production, but higher reqs lead to diminishing gains of below market-rate (BMR) units and accelerating losses of market-rate units. There's a point where higher IZ produces fewer of *both*. 3. LA's TOC program is well-calibrated to increase production of both. For example, TOC w/ 11% IZ produces more total housing than 0% without TOC bonuses. 4. Holding TOC bonuses constant, higher inclusionary zoning requirements come at significant cost. At best, every below-market unit produced by IZ reduces market-rate production by more than 4 units. At higher IZ, this "exchange rate" climbs to almost 9-to-1. 5. Inclusionary zoning isn't just an additional cost. The below-market units produced by IZ have value to the public, and specifically to low-income households, as a private subsidy by developers. I estimate the annual value of those subsidies under different IZ scenarios, ranging from $550 million to $1.7 billion. 6. We don't know how much different IZ requirements will increase rents, but we *can* estimate how much rents would need to increase to negate the value of private subsidies invested in affordable IZ units. And I find the required rent increases are quite small. For example, a 16% IZ requirement reduces market-rate production by almost half. If that reduction causes rents to increase at least 4.8% instead of 4% per year, the costs may outweigh the benefits. To me, that's not implausible. My takeaway: Different tools have different strengths, and land use policy may be best suited to improving affordability in the wider housing market, while public subsidies are best for producing below-market homes. IZ seeks to produce affordable homes by substituting land use policy in place of broadly shared taxes and public subsidies. This analysis suggests that the public may be paying either way, and that the costs of IZ are both higher and more regressive than the alternative

🌁 Can we avoid such catastrophic failures in the future? Can we design piers to withstand so high impact loads? Read the IStructE's statement for the #FrancisScottKeyBridge #resilience #bridges #design

interesting points... “It is almost impossible to design a bridge pier to withstand this kind of impact. Therefore, we tend to design impact protection measures to prevent it from happening instead." “Dolphins or other vessel impact protection devices in the water are commonplace since the Sunshine Skyway collapse in 1980. But this bridge was built in the 1970’s, so the design would not have incorporated these devices at that time. The fact that a vessel can veer off course and hit the pier is the reason to design vessel impact protection systems so that a large vessel cannot hit the critical bridge support."

How could they miss? The recent bridge failure underscores the need for proactive measures to protect against impact loads on bridge piers. While earlier designs may not have considered this specific risk, it's crucial that we prioritize safety by retrofitting existing structures with modern protective measures.

So many of our roads, buildings, and highways are named after people, places, and things but do you know the history behind these names? Read more below!

The Brandywine River bridge makes up a portion of the Delaware Turnpike, carrying I-95 traffic over the Brandywine River in Wilmington, Delaware. The bridge was constructed throughout the mid-1960s and, as it happens, the opening ceremony for the Delaware Turnpike was one of John F. Kennedy’s last public appearances before his assassination. When this project was in its planning phases, the structural engineers were tasked with analyzing the bridge using today’s design vehicle loads. The bridge contains two types of piers, hammerhead piers in the approach spans and arch piers in the middle spans. The structural engineers decided the strut-and-tie method was the most appropriate and accurate way to analyze these piers. Learn how Fyfe FRP's Tyfo assist with the structure's rehabilitation. https://ow.ly/sZf250QFHBM #StructuralStrengthening #Rehabilitation #Repair

You've most likely heard of redlining, but are you familiar with zoning? Zoning is a necessary planning tool, but has historically been wielded to discriminate on the basis of race and class. University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Davis have created the ‘California Zoning Atlas’: aimed at digitizing, demystifying, and democratizing dense information hidden in zoning codes. Learn more and explore the atlas below.

One of our longest and deepest client relationships is with Ruskin Mill College. You can find out more about the architecture and therapeutic landscape of Ruskin Mill College in this blog post: https://lnkd.in/eNdgBH4Y

Feeling lost in the subdivision maze? You're not alone! In our upcoming FREE masterclass, Callan and Rick will help us solve the subdivision riddle: - Navigating zoning laws - Simplifying permit processes - Speeding up approvals Join us on July 16th and turn confusion into confidence! Reserve your spot: StartSubdivides.com P.S. I'm bringing my biggest subdivision headaches to the Q&A. What about you?