Don’t miss the message embedded in the Wall Street Journal editorial, Joe Biden’s Green Free Lunch, Wall St. Jour., 6/7/19, p. A14. Most of it is the usual political stuff, accurately described by its title. But buried in it is an interesting message of interest to us land-use mavens. The editorial describes Biden’s proposed “shopping list” of policy prescriptions that he wants the Democrats to adopt in the coming presidential election. What is of interest to us is the sixth (bulleted) item on Joe’s list, quoted as a part of Biden’s proposed platform. Ready? Here it goes:
He wants the Democrats to use “zoning as a tool to battle climate change” by “altering local regulations to eliminate sprawl and allow for denser, more affordable housing near public transit.” In other words, Joe is plumping for the sort of new arrangement that was just rejected by the California legislature.
Will this effort succeed? We doubt it very much. If the California negative public (and eventually legislative) reaction to such an arrangement is any guide, this proposal won’t make it at the federal level either. If anything, issues of federalism stand in the way of such a proposal — the federal government is not authorized by the Constitution to regulate local land uses, and any attempt to convert Biden’s notion into reality is certain to arouse vigorous NIMBY reaction from established suburbanite home owners who like things the way they are, and are ready to go to the barricades to prevent any serious changes in the established suburban zoning practices that, among other things, have converted suburban home ownership into a bonanza for large numbers of existing homeowners who — at least in desirable coastal areas — have been enjoying exploding, six-figure home equities.
Still, these days, you can’t predict what the would-be “liberal” reformers are capable of coming up with. See for example a federal lawsuit now pending in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, in which self-motivated “students” are suing Uncle Sam demanding a court judgment that will order Uncle to stop global warming. So far, they haven’t been laughed out of court. But the case is far from over, so who knows what their Lordships will come up with. So keep an eye on Biden’s proposal as the presidential campaign moves along. You may yet be called upon to discuss this caper seriously, or at least with what purports to be a straight face.