Democrats in Virginia may override local zoning to bring high-density
housing, including public housing, to every neighborhood statewide —
whether residents want it or not.
The measure could quickly
transform the suburban lifestyle enjoyed by millions, permitting
duplexes to be built on suburban lots in neighborhoods previously
consisting of quiet streets and open green spaces. Proponents of
“upzoning” say the changes are necessary because suburbs are bastions of
segregation and elitism, as well as bad for the environment.
The move, which aims to provide “affordable housing,” might be
fiercely opposed by local officials throughout the state, who have
deliberately created and preserved neighborhoods with particular
character — some dense and walkable, others semi-rural and private — to
accommodate people’s various preferences.
But Democrats tout a state-level law’s ability to replace “not in my backyard” with “yes, in your backyard.”
House Delegate Ibraheem Samirah, a Democrat, introduced
six housing measures Dec. 19, coinciding with Democrats’ takeover of the state legislature in November.
“Single-family
housing zones would become two-zoned,” Samirah told the Daily Caller
News Foundation. “Areas that would be impacted most would be the suburbs
that have not done their part in helping out.”
“The real issues are the areas in between very dense areas which are
single-family zoned. Those are the areas that the state is having
significant trouble dealing with. They’re living in a bubble,” he said.
He
said suburbs were “mostly white and wealthy” and that their local
officials — who have historically been in charge of zoning — were
ignoring the desires of poor people, who did not have time to lobby them
to increase suburban density.
In response to a question about
whether people who bought homes in spacious suburbs have valid reasons,
not based on discrimination, for preferring to live that way — including
a love for nature and desire to preserve woods and streams — he said:
“Caring about nature is very important, but the more dense a
neighborhood is, the more energy efficient it is.”
He said if local officials seek to change requirements like setbacks to
make it impossible to build dense housing in areas zoned to preserve a
nature feel, “if they make setbacks to block duplexes, there’d have to
be a lawsuit to resolve whether those zoning provisions were necessary.”
He wrote on Facebook, “Because middle housing is what’s most
affordable for low-income people and people of color, banning that
housing in well-off neighborhoods chalks up to
modern-day redlining, locking folks out of areas with better access to schools, jobs, transit, and other services and amenities.”
“I
will certainly get pushback for this. Some will call it ‘state
overreach.’ Some will express anxiety about neighborhood change. Some
may even say that the supply issue doesn’t exist. But the research is
clear: zoning is a barrier to more housing and integrated communities,”
he continued.
He tweeted Sunday that that would include
public housing.
“Important Q about new social/public housing programs: where are we
going to put the units? Under current zoning, new low-income housing is
relegated to underinvested neighborhoods, concentrating poverty more.
Ending exclusionary zoning has to be part of broader housing reform,” he
said.
Tim Hannigan, chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee — in
one of the areas Samirah represents — said that urban Democrats were
waging war on the suburbs.
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“This
could completely change the character of suburban residential life,
because of the urbanization that would develop,” he told the DCNF. “So
much of the American dream is built upon this idea of finding a nice
quiet place to raise your family, and that is under assault.”
“This
is a power-grab to take away the ability of local communities to
establish their own zoning practices … literally trying to change the
character of our communities,” he said.
He said suburbs were not equipped to handle the increased traffic, and
“inevitably it will just push people to places where they feel they’ll
get away from that, they may move to West Virginia to get their little
plot of land.”
Minneapolis became the first city to eliminated
single family zoning in December 2018, after a push by progressive
advocacy groups promoting “equity.” Austin, Texas, and Seattle soon
followed suit.
But those cities were amending zoning codes that
have always been the domain of local governments. Oregon passed state
legislation blocking local governments’ single-family zoning in July,
CityLab reported.
It quoted Alex Baca, a Washington, D.C.,
urbanist with the site Greater Greater Washington, saying that
single-family zoning is a tool for wealthy whites to maintain
segregated neighborhoods and that the abolition of low-density neighborhoods is necessary for equity.
CityLab acknowledged that “residents might reasonably desire to keep
the neighborhoods they love the way they are,” but said that
implementing the law at the state level makes sure that those concerns
can be more easily ignored.
“By preempting the ability of local
governments to set their own restrictive zoning policies, the state
policy would circumnavigate the complaints of local NIMBY homeowners who
want to block denser housing,” it wrote.
(RELATED: Dem Prosecutors Fear For Suburbs’ Safety As Radical District Attorneys, Fueled By Soros Cash, Take Control)
While he implied that suburbs are prejudiced, Samirah himself has a history of
anti-Semitic comments, including saying sending money to Israel is worse than funding the Klu Klux Klan.
I am
so sorry
that my ill-chosen words added to the pain of the Jewish community, and
I seek your understanding and compassion as I prove to you our common
humanity,” he said in February.
He interrupted a
speech in July by President Donald Trump in Jamestown, Virginia, and said, “You can’t send us back! Virginia is our home.”
His
father is Jordanian refugee Sabri Samirah, who authorities banned from
the U.S. for a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, in part because
of his membership in the
Muslim Brotherhood, the Chicago Tribune reported in 2014.
Virginia House Del. Ibraheem Samirah introduced a bill
that would override local zoning officials to permit multi-family
housing in every neighborhood, changing the character of quiet suburbs.
- Oregon passed a similar bill, following moves by cities such as Minneapolis; Austin, Texas; and Seattle.
- Proponents say urban lifestyles are better for the environment and that suburbs are bastions of racial segregation.
https://dailycaller.com/2019/12/23/virginia-house-zoning-environment/
