John Seiler
Blog
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Democratic plan would bring turmoil to housing markets
A century ago, the federal government involved itself hardly at all in housing, leaving that to state and local governments, and the market. The major exception was housing on federal land, including the District of Columbia, other territories and military bases. That changed in 1937 when, as part of President ...
Blog
Converting offices to homes helps ease housing crunch
Converting offices to homes helps ease housing crunch By John Seiler | September 6, 2024 “There is no logic that can be superimposed on the city; people make it, and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans.” —Jane Jacobs, author As cities in California and ...
Blog
Boom town or bust? Developers postpone new-city plan
The developers apparently ran into bad polling and a negative report from Solano County questioning funding sources for related infrastructure. Taking more time and getting the bureaucratic papers and all the infrastructure funding and governance details in order will address some of the arguments the NIMBYs (Not In My Back ...
Blog
Read the latest on the Sacramento DA's homeless lawsuit
Sac DA’s homeless lawsuit falters, but effort wasn’t in vain
District Attorney Thien Ho tested how much his office directly can affect homeless policy by suing the city for not doing its job to deal with its festering homelessness crisis. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Jill H. Talley ruled on May 6 that Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the City Council ...
Blog
Cities can slash homeless housing costs by ditching subsidies
Cities can slash homeless housing costs by ditching subsidies by John Seiler | May 10, 2024 Why reject government subsidies? After all, everyone pays huge amounts in taxes. Might as well get some of it back. But that’s just what’s happening in California’s housing crisis. In part of a new ...
Blog
Insurance crisis moves from hinterlands to big cities
Insurance crisis moves from hinterlands to big cities By John Seiler | May 3, 2024 The home-insurance crisis hitting California and other states is now thwarting cities’ efforts to house the homeless. All mortgages require insurance up front. No insurance, no homes for the homeless, or anybody. That directly will ...
Blog
Read about SF's turn to the right
San Francisco voters turn to the right on crime and schools
The most controversial, Measure E, passed 54% to 46%. It allowed the following: After a public hearing, the chief of police could install surveillance devices without the approval of the Police Commission; Police could use drones to pursue vehicles and for investigations, including facial recognition, without the approval of the ...
Blog
Read about new local tax & bond measures
Local voters face 77 tax increases on California’s March ballot
According to its calculation, if all pass the combined hit would be $350 million in direct tax increases and $3.6 billion in bonded indebtedness. The group notes the new debt includes “36 school bonds, 16 transactions and use taxes, 19 parcel taxes, two general obligation bonds, one business license tax, ...
Blog
Read latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Well-run California cities grow, while badly run ones shrink
I’ve come up with a unique way to measure how well California cities are doing. It shows those with well-run finances grow in population, while those badly run shrink. It’s a generality. There are exceptions. But look at the trend line on this chart. Notice the trend line, the dotted ...
Blog
Get the latest scoop on local green programs
Budget woes force cities to limit utopian climate programs
City officials depend on money from state and federal governments to implement climate agendas imposed from above. A new report finds them griping about their favorite topic: not enough money from the taxpayers. Key takeaway: “Across all policy areas, respondents were most likely to identify staff capacity and funding as ...
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Democratic plan would bring turmoil to housing markets
A century ago, the federal government involved itself hardly at all in housing, leaving that to state and local governments, and the market. The major exception was housing on federal land, including the District of Columbia, other territories and military bases. That changed in 1937 when, as part of President ...
Converting offices to homes helps ease housing crunch
Converting offices to homes helps ease housing crunch By John Seiler | September 6, 2024 “There is no logic that can be superimposed on the city; people make it, and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans.” —Jane Jacobs, author As cities in California and ...
Boom town or bust? Developers postpone new-city plan
The developers apparently ran into bad polling and a negative report from Solano County questioning funding sources for related infrastructure. Taking more time and getting the bureaucratic papers and all the infrastructure funding and governance details in order will address some of the arguments the NIMBYs (Not In My Back ...
Read the latest on the Sacramento DA's homeless lawsuit
Sac DA’s homeless lawsuit falters, but effort wasn’t in vain
District Attorney Thien Ho tested how much his office directly can affect homeless policy by suing the city for not doing its job to deal with its festering homelessness crisis. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Jill H. Talley ruled on May 6 that Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the City Council ...
Cities can slash homeless housing costs by ditching subsidies
Cities can slash homeless housing costs by ditching subsidies by John Seiler | May 10, 2024 Why reject government subsidies? After all, everyone pays huge amounts in taxes. Might as well get some of it back. But that’s just what’s happening in California’s housing crisis. In part of a new ...
Insurance crisis moves from hinterlands to big cities
Insurance crisis moves from hinterlands to big cities By John Seiler | May 3, 2024 The home-insurance crisis hitting California and other states is now thwarting cities’ efforts to house the homeless. All mortgages require insurance up front. No insurance, no homes for the homeless, or anybody. That directly will ...
Read about SF's turn to the right
San Francisco voters turn to the right on crime and schools
The most controversial, Measure E, passed 54% to 46%. It allowed the following: After a public hearing, the chief of police could install surveillance devices without the approval of the Police Commission; Police could use drones to pursue vehicles and for investigations, including facial recognition, without the approval of the ...
Read about new local tax & bond measures
Local voters face 77 tax increases on California’s March ballot
According to its calculation, if all pass the combined hit would be $350 million in direct tax increases and $3.6 billion in bonded indebtedness. The group notes the new debt includes “36 school bonds, 16 transactions and use taxes, 19 parcel taxes, two general obligation bonds, one business license tax, ...
Read latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Well-run California cities grow, while badly run ones shrink
I’ve come up with a unique way to measure how well California cities are doing. It shows those with well-run finances grow in population, while those badly run shrink. It’s a generality. There are exceptions. But look at the trend line on this chart. Notice the trend line, the dotted ...
Get the latest scoop on local green programs
Budget woes force cities to limit utopian climate programs
City officials depend on money from state and federal governments to implement climate agendas imposed from above. A new report finds them griping about their favorite topic: not enough money from the taxpayers. Key takeaway: “Across all policy areas, respondents were most likely to identify staff capacity and funding as ...
