Tag: nimby

NIMBY Lawsuit Accidentally Abolishes City’s Entire Zoning Code

The comedy of errors unfolding from a lawsuit challenging Charlottesville, Virginia’s new zoning code took a surprisingly libertarian turn last week when a judge’s ruling ended up voiding all the city’s zoning regulations.

The lawsuit, filed by neighborhood activists in early 2024, challenges the Charlottesville City Council’s decision to allow apartment buildings in more areas of the city and “middle housing” development in formerly single-family-only neighborhoods.

The plaintiffs, who are alleging the city failed to coordinate the zoning changes with infrastructure planning, appeared to score a total victory last week when Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell ruled that, because the city missed a key filing deadline, the new code had to be scrapped.

But now, local media outlets are reporting a surprising twist. Charlottesville had to repeal its old zoning code before passing the new one. With the new code now voided and the old one off the books, the city officially now has no zoning code to speak of.

In other words, a NIMBY lawsuit challenging a slightly more liberal zoning code has resulted in complete zoning abolition.

Critics of zoning like to point out that many of the things people think they like about zoning—rules regulating the health and safety of new buildings, stormwater runoff, etc.—actually have nothing to do with zoning at all.

Charlottesville’s accidental zoning abolition is a great illustration of that point.

As Charlottesville Tomorrow reports, building codes and other related regulations remain on the books. But the zoning code’s rules about where apartments can be built, how tall they can be, how many units they can include, etc. are gone.

​​”If there’s no ordinance, then we don’t even need site plans,” Justin Shimp, the head of a local engineering firm, told Charlottesville Tomorrow. “You would simply say, I want to build an apartment building, and I would turn the building permit into the building department, and if it met the [state] building code, they would approve it, and you would build an apartment building.”

Unfortunately for zoning critics, the city is doing what it can to prevent a blossoming of new unzoned development while it scrambles to reinstitute a zoning code.

City planning staff told Charlottesville Tomorrow that they will delay any processing of building applications that “involve zoning” until they receive “further legal and procedural clarity.”

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Affluent New Jersey city considers controversial ordinance that would fine or jail homeless people for sleeping outside

A tony New Jersey city is considering approving a controversial new ordinance that would fine or jail homeless people found sleeping in public spaces.

Summit Councilman Jamel Boyer, a Republican, introduced the ordinance last Tuesday, claiming it serves to “preserve the safe and accessible use of public property for all residents, pedestrians and businesses.”

The ordinance in Summit would prohibit the homeless from camping in public areas, including parks, sidewalks, alleyways, and benches.

If approved, anyone found violating the ordinance would face a fine of up to $2,000 “and/or imprisonment or community service for a term not to exceed ninety days,” the order says.

A similar ordinance was presented in Morristown, NJ, in February but was struck down following massive backlash from the community and advocacy groups, NJ.com reported.

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London council chiefs spend £140million to send homeless people out of the capital by snapping up hundreds of properties in deprived areas elsewhere in England

Councils in London have spent more than £140million snapping up homes outside the city to relocate homeless people.  

Local authorities in the capital have acquired more than 850 properties across England since 2017, with many in the most deprived areas of the east and southeast of the country, The Guardian reported. 

Bizarrely, some London councils have already bought properties in the Midlands and are planning to send some people as far as Liverpool and the northeast. 

Officials identified 704 people living on the streets of the capital between October and December last year – a 26 per cent rise on the previous year.

Meanwhile, a total of 4,612 individuals were found to be sleeping rough, a five per cent increase on the year before.

People are deemed to be living on the streets if they have had been seen rough sleeping on several occasions over a period of three weeks or more. 

In order to deal with the scope of the problem, and faced with an extreme shortage of social housing and skyrocketing private rents, more than a dozen local authorities – and the housing companies they partially own – have invested heavily in property outside of London’s boundaries. 

The non-London residences are used to house homeless individuals or families either as temporary emergency accommodation or permanently as a privately rented home. 

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‘It’s going to be war’: Hundreds of furious Brooklyn residents take to the streets to protest planned homeless shelter for 150 men

Thousands of protesters descended on a Brooklyn neighborhood Saturday to protest a planned homeless shelter that will house only men.

The shelter, proposed by the city, will be a 32-room hotel with a community facility, and will provide services like case management, housing placement, and community partnerships that will work to provide the men with jobs.

The planned site is located in heavily residential Bensonhurst, where locals have expressed unease over the site’s proximity to several schools.

City officials have shot back that the neighborhood is one of few in the five boroughs without a shelter, and that residents have had ample notice, being notified back in November.

Unswayed, residents, business owners, and politicians in the mostly Asian neighborhood came together Saturday to say no to the city’s plans, as Mayor Eric Adams‘ administration works to address the city’s rapidly rising homeless rate.

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“So We Get No Say?” – Wealthy Elites from Affluent Neighborhood in Sanctuary City Boston Outraged Over Local Migrant Shelter Plans 

These leftist elites are all alike.

Residents from Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood gathered this week to complain about a planned migrant facility that is opening soon in their affluent community.

When these elites approved of the Boston’s sanctuary status they sure didn’t agree to this!

The local residents complained to city officials, “So we have no say?” After the plans were announced for the shelter in their area.

It’s just not right.

The Blaze reported:

Residents of a wealthy neighborhood in Boston expressed outrage at a recent community meeting after they learned that a new migrant shelter would soon open up nearby.

On Tuesday night, residents gathered to meet with General Scott Rice, the emergency assistance director for Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, to discuss their concerns about a temporary migrant shelter opening up in Fort Point, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the Seaport area of Boston.

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A Good Democrat: Liberal NBA Player Stephen Curry Opposes Affordable Housing Development Near His Mansion

NBA player Stephen Curry is a liberal, Biden-supporting Democrat. He is also a hypocrite.

Despite being part of a nonprofit that “aims to promote economic equality and opportunity,” Curry and his wife are opposing the construction of an affordable housing development near their multi-million dollar mansion.

It’s classic NIMBY – Not in my back yard.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Lib NBA Star Stephen Curry Opposes Affordable Housing Near His $30 Million Mansion

NBA superstar and Biden-supporter Stephen Curry is opposing the proposed construction of a low-income multifamily unit proposed for construction next to his $30 million mansion, saying he has “major concerns” for his “privacy” and “safety.”

Curry, who joined a nonprofit in 2021 focused on “bridging the racial wealth gap,” wrote a letter with his wife Ayesha to the city of Atherton, Calif., asking that it reconsider the construction of a 16-unit property near their estate.

“We hesitate to add to the ‘not in our backyard’ (literally) rhetoric, but we wanted to send a note before today’s meeting,” the couple wrote in the letter. “Safety and privacy for us and our kids continues to be our top priority.”

While the Golden State Warriors guard opposes affordable housing in his own neighborhood, Curry in 2021 joined the nonprofit NinetyToZero, which aims to promote economic equality and opportunity…

Curry is a longtime Democrat. He joined former president Barack Obama for a town hall on racial equality in 2019. A year later, he put his kids in front of a camera during the 2020 DNC to endorse Joe Biden. He gave $10,000 to Colin Kaepernick-linked charities and called Donald Trump’s 2024 run a ‘threat.”

He wants to help the little guy, as long as it doesn’t happen in his neighborhood.

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AOC goes NIMBY, says there’s a better solution than housing migrants in her district

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., who has moved to the radical end of her progressive agenda multiple times since she was elected to Congress, apparently has been struck with a serious case of NIMBYism.

That stands for “Not In My Backyard,” a sentiment that is attributed to those who definitely do not want various responses to social problems close to them.

In this case, it’s a tent city for migrants.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been working to deal with an influx of some 10,000 migrants who ended up in the city after crossing into the United States illegally from Mexico.

The pending proposal involves building a tent city in the district that elected Ocasio Cortez to house about 1,000.

Adams spokesman Fabien Levy defended plans for the tent city.

“No location is perfect, but we are confident in this decision. And we’re glad that so many local elected officials recognize we’re in an emergency and are willing to work with us towards a successful rollout,” Levy said.

In a report in the New York Daily News, Ocasio Cortez ripped the mayor’s ideas.

“I think we can get to a place with a better solution here,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

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Left-Wing Martha’s Vineyard Elites Deport Illegal Immigrants After Just 24 Hours

Busses arrived in Edgartown, Mass., Friday morning to ship out the 50 illegal migrants who arrived at the New England destination at Martha’s Vineyard Wednesday night courtesy of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

According to the Vineyard Gazette, the mostly Venezuelan migrants will be bussed to a ferry that will take them to a military base on Cape Cod. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker announced the activation of up to 125 members of the state National Guard to coordinate relief efforts for what local residents declared a “humanitarian crisis.”

“We are grateful to the providers, volunteers and local officials that stepped up on Martha’s Vineyard over the past few days to provide immediate services to these individuals,” Baker said in a Friday press release. “Our Administration has been working across state government to develop a plan to ensure these individuals will have access to the services they need going forward, and Joint Base Cape Cod is well equipped to serve these needs.”

Lisa Belcastro, a local resident who manages the shelter at the island’s St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church where migrants slept for their two-night stay, said Thursday the migrants would have to move on because the wealthy island was full.

“We certainly don’t have housing, we’re in a housing crisis as we are on this island,” Belcastro said. “We don’t have housing for 50 more people.”

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Martha’s Vineyard Shelter Coordinator’s Reply To Migrants Arriving Goes Viral: ‘They Have To’ Go ‘Somewhere Else’

Remarks from Lisa Belcastro, the coordinator for Martha’s Vineyard homeless shelter Harbor Homes, went viral Thursday after she was asked about 50 illegal immigrants arriving on the island.

Belcastro’s remarks come after Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis  sent the illegal immigrants to the island off the coast of Massachusetts on Wednesday.

“Yes, Florida can confirm the two planes with illegal immigrants that arrived in Martha’s Vineyard today were part of the state’s relocation program to transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations,” an official for DeSantis’ office said in a statement. “States like Massachusetts, New York, and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country’ by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as ‘sanctuary states’ and support for the Biden Administration’s open border policies.”

“In this past legislative session the Florida Legislature appropriated $12 million to implement a program to facilitate the transport of illegal immigrants from this state consistent with federal law,” the official added.

The 50 illegal immigrants landing on the small island, where ultrawealthy progressives like former President Barack Obama live, sent the political Left into meltdown mode, with some falsely claiming that DeSantis had created “an ethnic cleansing program.”

Millions of illegal immigrants have poured into the U.S. under President Joe Biden, particularly into southern states, but the media and the political Left have shown less interest in addressing the humanitarian and national security crisis that has erupted under Biden.

When Belcastro was asked Thursday about what the “most difficult challenges” were that the island faced from the arrival of the 50 illegal immigrants, she responded: “The difficult challenges are, we have, at some point in time they have to move from here to somewhere else.”

“We cannot, we don’t have the services to take care of 50 immigrants,” she continued. “And we certainly don’t have housing. We’re in a housing crisis as we are on this island. And we don’t, we can’t house everyone here that lives here and work here. We don’t have housing for 50 more people.”

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A woman who parked her tiny house on her parents’ property in New Hampshire was forced to move out after the local government said it was illegal

On August 22, 2019, O’Brien presented her case to the Hampton Falls Zoning Board of Adjustment. But the board denied her request, blocking her path to legalizing her tiny house.

The meeting notes said the board denied her request for a variance because it “would be contrary to the public interest because the structure is currently existing, therefore the modifications are not in compliance and should have been discussed prior to the particular building of the structure.”

Additionally, the board felt that the tiny house could diminish property values.

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