Housing Roundup #14: You Can’t Build That
Fire departments, zoning codes, and aesthetic judgments are making housing impossible to build at sane prices.
Government regulations—fire codes, zoning, and "affordable housing" policies that create lottery tickets while reducing overall affordability—stand as major barriers to building. Fire standards like street width requirements, 15-30 foot setbacks, fire lanes, and tree removal for ladder access impose costs far exceeding the value of fire risk prevented. Aesthetic concerns also drive opposition: a new paper finds voters oppose dense housing because they find it ugly, even in other neighborhoods—suggesting some NIMBYism is actually about looks. The article argues we could fix ugliness if we cared, but current approval processes and costs make new construction unattractive.
- Fire codes require 15-30 foot setbacks from curb, wide streets per NFPA, removal of trees, and fire lanes—adding massive costs with marginal safety benefit.
- 'Affordable housing' policies create lottery systems that paradoxically reduce overall housing affordability while blocking market-rate supply.
- New research shows voters oppose dense housing primarily due to aesthetic judgments, even when built in other neighborhoods, challenging pure self-interest NIMBY theories.
Why It Matters
Regulatory barriers, not just NIMBYism, are the root cause of housing unaffordability—and aesthetics are a bigger driver of opposition than commonly thought.