Joe Cohen

In theory, it'd be possible in LA to have a building across three lots where FAR is measured differently on each third of the building.

Don't you just love when Floor Area Ratio is measured differently on each half of a building?

What makes this even more ridiculous is that the parcel actually had a multifamily General Plan land-use designation.

The zoning was literally "wrong."

The city lost a landmark court case on this issue all the way back in 1982!

Why did LA fight this project in court?

Surrounded by apartments, a hotel, & a bank, one of its parcels is zoned Suburban Agricultural

Despite state law saying they had to approve it, LA wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars to "protect" the RA/R1 zoning

It’s so refreshing to hear someone telling the truth about the LA establishment, which has no higher goal than giving the appearance of doing something while doing nothing. A change from people who want to do as little as possible to people who want to see how much is possible.

If you’re following LA politics, make sure to follow @nithyaforthecity.bsky.social. It’s a new account just created for the campaign, so you’re probably not following yet!

the LA mayoral race is shaping up to be the most obvious local election in a while.

progressive YIMBY (Raman) vs. incompetent NIMBY (Bass) vs. insane NIMBY (Pratt)

Raman is like Zohran/Zellnor/Lander fusion vs. Cuomo (Bass) vs. Sliwa (Pratt)

45-Story, 800-Unit Apartment Building Proposed For New Brunswick A proposal is before the New Brunswick Planning Board to build a 45-story apartment building at 259 George Street, plus a new parking garage

45-story tower proposed for a vacant lot behind the Abundant Life Family Worship Church in New Brunswick NJ. Original abundance bros! If this is approved - and I think it will be - it may be the tallest building in Central NJ! 800 apartments, of which 160 affordable. patch.com/new-jersey/n...

The city lost the case, so now the project is going through permitting

She is among the best housing communicators in the country. She’s going to make an incredible Mayor of Los Angeles.

It's actually kind of jarring to see a Los Angeles city councilmember who doesn't think their job is to be either a cheerleader or a protest leader.

Judge rules LA broke state law by blocking affordable housing in the San Fernando Valley The city’s attempt to retroactively block low-income apartments in a single-family neighborhood was illegal, according to a new ruling.

laist.com/news/housing...

Why is the city of Los Angeles stopping affordable housing during a housing crisis?

I’d assume this is essentially the first step towards a post-RHNA framework that is more accountable and prioritizes results over paperwork

If they chose to do it, that would be a 10x increase in HB’s housing production levels

bsky.app/profile/cohe...

This would result in 10,000 new homes getting built in 5 years. By comparison, HB built… 200 homes in 2024.

This could be a cool model, but I doubt many cities will participate

Let’s say Huntington Beach wanted to exempt itself from state housing laws…

I could put together a plan with twenty 500-unit high rises and guarantee to start construction on four a year in exchange for incentives.

After those five years, HB would be exempt… for one year

(1/2)

Nice work by CM Katy Yaroslavsky to get coffee kiosks in all the new Metro D Line stations opening in May! cdn.mc-weblink.sg-mktg.com/weblink/MTc3...

I mean yes, but 39,000 homes a year for five years in a row would be an absolute miracle.

Hasn't he very vocally disavowed his Nazi views?

SB 1216

I don't hate this.

To be eligible for these exemptions, Los Angeles would need to permit just under 39,000 homes a year, for five years in a row

The fact that they have terminal expansion plans seems to indicate that they have adequate runway capacity to handle those extra flights, no?

It's weird that this is presented as a "test case" when this is very clearly established state law that courts have ruled on multiple times

LAX absolutely has room (and plans) for expansion.

Yea, it looks like you’re right and it’s fully public.

Maybe I should buy Tejon Ranch? 🤔

Wait, the market cap of Tejon Ranch Co, the largest land owner in CA, is under $500 million???

Public shares can’t be the full ownership, right?

They can't do high speeds over it, because it's too long of a distance to be able to safely brake. But you still could do medium-speeds over that section.

I feel like this route would make a lot of sense for a mixed-speed electric passenger & freight rail line