Kelly,
I don't think the title deeds of urban property owners guarantee them
access to sunlight for the duration of their ownership of a piece of
property, nor do I think that this is a reasonable presumption of
someone buying a building. Especially in a city with adjoining lots, I
think there ought to be the reasonable expectation that someone might
build something tall next to you at some point. Rather than imposing
bureaucratic restrictions on development, I think this kind of thing
ought to be left to private negotiation and compromise. Most people
want to get along with their neighbors; if a neighbor has a reasonable
concern, I think most developers would be willing to sit down and talk
about it if the threat of government disapproval or legal action
weren't hanging over their heads. If it matters enough to neighbors,
they can always try to buy off developers on a case-by-case basis in
exchange for limiting the height of new developments.
Besides, where would you draw the line? Sunlight is not the only
consideration that may be negatively impacted by development. Other
things going on in a neighborhood may have equally negative impacts on
property owners. For example, a new business opening and bringing more
noise and street traffic, the arrival of a homeless shelter causing
property values in the area to drop, etc. If you try to have government
adjudicate all these things, it becomes a regulatory nightmare in which
"professional victims" and neighborhood busybodies can tie up the
system for years and add millions of dollars to the costs of
construction -- in other words, pretty much what we have now.
How do you weigh the value of having more hours of sunlight due to
keeping buildings shorter, against the value of being able to drive 15
minutes and be out in an area with open, rolling hills? When we make it
difficult to build up, a natural consequence is more urban sprawl.
That's not only aesthetically unpleasing for everyone (including the
neighbor whose sunlight would have been diminished), but bad for the
environment as well.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
At the meeting on Feb. 14, I agreed with Starchild's point that Prop J
gives developers an additional option that they don't have to take, and
therefore offers more options for building than exist now. However,
Prop
J also takes away the right of some property owners to have individual
projects that would affect their property reviewed by the Planning
Commission. I think the best solution would be for the developers to be
able to buy the right to build taller buildings from the people who
would be affected, but since we don't have that, I think the review
process is the next-best way to decide what can be built. The review
process is slow and might lead to the same unreimbursed devaluing of
property that Prop J will lead to, but at least the owners would have a
chance to make their case to a group of people who look at the details
of each case, instead of voters giving advance approval to future
projects.Kelly
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