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freeski919 t1_j6xuhnk wrote

I work on public housing policy all day every day. The one thing we can control for housing costs is the supply. We need more housing. A lot more. That means changing zoning and code laws to increase density. And we need to push through the NIMBYism that crops up when denser developments do get proposed. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

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Squidworth89 t1_j6xzhxg wrote

My mum has a house in San Diego. It’s worth over a million.

The house is a shitty little 800sf from like the 60s… it’s the land.

Zoning and density is the number one issue. It’ll still be expensive though. Material and labor prices are high. But ten story buildings with hundreds of units be far more efficient.

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demalo t1_j7020jf wrote

I think we should poll who wants to live in a 10 story building. Amenities, functions, sizes, and other features need to be met or it’s just a developers wet dream and does nothing to help people.

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Squidworth89 t1_j703mqq wrote

You want affordable housing that’s what it will ultimately be.

Needs > wants and are often far less lavish.

Part of me still thinks we’re a couple generations from UBI… part of me thinks I’ll see it in my lifetime once the boomers die off.

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demalo t1_j70b14i wrote

There are hundreds of examples of states with high density, low income housing. Market forces abound, it’s in the rental industries best interest to keep supply just below demand. They also don’t want regular housing, condos, or upward mobility reducing their share of the market. Guaranteed housing, like guaranteed UBI may be the future, but it’s going to be four walls, a ceiling, and a door. That may be fine for some but it will drive others insane.

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Squidworth89 t1_j70m05h wrote

The lack of housing currently isn’t like it’s always been, controlled by the rental industry.

2008 crash left a multimillion unit hole that was never filled.

Combined with a lot of people leaving the building industry and never returning back then and a shortage of new blood entering the industry there isn’t enough labor power to keep up, let alone catch up.

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MaineJackalope t1_j6yy0jw wrote

I'm hoping the 3d printed neighborhood Penquis and UMaine will be working on catches on and spreads like wildfire through the state

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damariscove t1_j7234uy wrote

Sorry to say that UMaine projects don’t have a strong track record, especially when good existing solutions for the root cause already exist.

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MaineJackalope t1_j73tsnf wrote

This has potential. Millions of Americans can't afford houses right now and if you can 3d print one with lessan hours needed and using wood residuals rather than premo lumber than I bet this could be done much cheaper than a typical house build

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MrEddieKing t1_j6y3xxg wrote

Currently advocating for these very things in Rockland, along with eliminating parking minimums and setback reqs. There's a very big code rewrite currently underway, hopefully should see some of this stuff start to come into effect this fall [fingers crossed].

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baxterstate t1_j6yjqhx wrote

I have said this very same thing.

There's not only not enough housing, there's not enough multifamily housing.

Multi family housing is the easiest way that a first time buyer can qualify for a house.

Build more multifamily housing and you also get more apartments which will lead to a stabilization of rents, and a decrease in the rental value of apartments that are not well maintained.

With regards to to NIMBYism, reporters need to start showing up at town meetings and city council meetings and publicly shame NIMBYists.

The Governor could start the ball rolling with a carrot; more state funds to cities and towns that provide zoning ONLY for 2-3 family homes on 5000-10000 sf lots.

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mymaineaccount46 t1_j6yp9q8 wrote

> With regards to to NIMBYism, reporters need to start showing up at town meetings and city council meetings and publicly shame NIMBYists.

That's not a reporters job. If you want people to distrust journalists, and reporters, more than they already do encourage this. If you want us to ever get back to a sense of normalcy than they shouldn't.

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baxterstate t1_j6z6sup wrote

Reporting on the root cause of the housing/apartment shortage is very much a reporter’s job.

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Tony-Flags t1_j728924 wrote

Publicly shaming people that are expressing their opinion peacefully at a municipal meeting is not the way to win them over to your cause. I certainly may not agree with their NIMBYism, but I will defend their right to express their opinions. If I want to disagree, that's what my three minutes at the microphone are for.

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baxterstate t1_j72ljq4 wrote

If I want to disagree, that's what my three minutes at the microphone are for. —————————————————— Look, if your expressed opinion was to zone in such a way as to racially exclude someone, then the media would happily report it. What I mean by shaming is simply reporting it.

Let people see for themselves who is causing the housing crisis. Reporting on it isn’t preventing you from expressing your opinion.

If you believe that expressing your opinion and having it appear on the 6pm news is bad, then there’s a flaw with your opinion.

We publicly shame people all the time for their opinions by simply showing it in broad daylight.

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freeski919 t1_j6ykvwl wrote

The good news is that the Legislature is very focused on housing this year. It was one of the highest priority issues in the campaign, and the legislature took all of two days to pass their first housing legislation this session. Hopefully that continues.

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oopsidasical t1_j7pvavz wrote

How many houses are sitting out there that are bank owned and unoccupied? We have one next door to us in PORTLAND, and the fellow from the bank said there are thousands of these in Maine that he takes pictures of. Political pressure could possibly motivate these banks to place these properties on the market in a faster timeframe.

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