Calls to end single-family zoning are usually accompanied with a reminder that zoning has long been used for racial and economic segregation. But another segment of the population wants to retain segregation, and it isn’t racist, white rednecks. The residents in many of Houston’s traditionally black and Latino neighborhoods are lamenting the integration of their community. One resident of Houston’s Third Ward compared this pattern of integration to a natural disaster: “It’s like a flood. A hurricane has hit the city, and the flood has washed away African Americans from historic neighborhoods.” Many, if not most, impoverished neighborhoods like the Third Ward have been neglected by government agencies and residents for decades. And that history of neglect is what private developers are washing away.
When the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit New York City, at least ten people drowned in flooded basement apartments. While such apartments are legal, like all housing in New York, they must meet a plethora of city regulations. Because of the cost and hassle in dealing with the regulatory process, many property owners rent their basements without meeting the legal requirements. Housing advocates are now pressuring the city to ramp up enforcement and “legalize” the estimated 313,000 basement apartments in the city that have not received the city’s permission for occupancy. The loss of life is certainly tragic, but this myopic view will almost certainly cause far more misery. Many property owners will not “legalize” their basement apartments, which will result in a substantial number of families losing their home as those apartments are taken off the market. They may have to find refuge under a bridge, but at least they won’t drown in an illegal basement apartment.
One of the stated purposes of zoning is to segregate “incompatible” land uses. Mixing uses, zoning advocates claim, is deleterious. Single-family housing, multi-family housing, commercial, and industrial should each have their own zone. But the fact is, a growing number of people want to live in mixed-use communities. They want to be close to restaurants, pubs, and retail stores, and they want to be able to walk to those establishments. Examples of mixed-use abound in Houston. As one example, I recently had dinner at a restaurant located on a busy street. A side street led into a predominantly residential area. However, the first four buildings were single-family homes that had been converted into offices and retail: an insurance agency, a law office, a dentist, and a florist. After these commercial buildings, there are several single-family homes that appear to remain residential. Adjacent to them, on one side of the street stood ten 3-story townhomes on two lots. In just a short span there exists commercial, single-family residential, and multi-family residential. Apparently, the property owners don’t think such mixed-use is incompatible.
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