In the past, I’ve been critical of former Republic columnist John Talton’s loose cannon, anti-automobile ranting. I haven’t seen much from him lately, but his older piece, Phoenix 101: What killed downtown, Part II, recently came to my attention, and contains a nugget worth noting. Hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in […]
Sedona residents challenge Rep. Bob Thorpe over vacation rentals
The 2016 law only curbs cities and towns from regulating short-term rentals, but says nothing about HOAs Guess where most of the legislators who supported this live. — Read on www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2019/07/25/sedona-residents-challenge-rep-bob-thorpe-over-vacation-rentals/1811064001/
“A city government exists only for the purpose of…”
During a refreshing, unplanned visit to the Phoenix North Mountain Visitor Center, I saw on display this letter to the residents of the Sunnyslope area, sent to them upon annexation of the area into the City of Phoenix. It says, in part, A city government exists only for the purpose of performing necessary municipal services for […]
I “DESERVE” Affordable Housing: How Minneapolis Freed Itself From the Stranglehold of Single-Family Homes
“Neighbors for More Neighbors.” Hmm. Yet another housing cost-related article popped up in my browsing of the news. This one is a little scary, with the premise that single-family housing is actually the PROBLEM when it comes to housing cost. And this is how city leaders in Minneapolis started down the path to “fixing” that […]
I “DESERVE” Affordable Housing in Scottsdale; Why Rent Control Doesn’t Work
I was scanning stations while driving today and stumbled across the most recent, and timely (given the uproar created by my post yesterday regarding millennial whining about high cost of housing in Scottsdale) episode of Freakonomics. The ultimate extreme of “affordable housing” is rent control. Maybe we should do THAT in Scottsdale? There are decades’ […]
“I deserve affordable housing in Scottsdale”
I recently had an–interesting–social media conversation with a couple of keyboard warriors who are essentially demanding cheaper (“affordable”) housing in Scottsdale. It’s clear from the comments they made that, while cloaked in proletariat self-righteousness, their motivation is really more about self-interest and entitlement than the “working class.” The conversation started with an opinion piece posted […]
Payson’s pipeline brings flood of challenges
The water levels in the network of town wells dropped 70 or 100 feet in many places before the town imposed tough water restrictions, shortly before the recession. Well levels stabilized about 10 years ago, still far below historic levels. Source: Payson’s pipeline brings flood of challenges | News | paysonroundup.com I spend a little […]
City’s apartment boom raises residents’ concerns | City News | scottsdale.org
City planning double-speak: Scottsdale Senior Planner Jeff Barnes said. “Although the land use is not in direct review as part of that process, there is focus on how the allowed land uses are applied to a site and conformance of that application with established code and policy parameters.” — Read on www.scottsdale.org/content/tncms/live/
Developer Dishonesty? Say it isn’t so!
Vicki Falen and her husband Dana live in the Montana Ranch community south of Shea Boulevard at roughly 117th Street. Late last year an adjoining parcel which was similarly-designated as rural residential, was rezoned via “major general plan amendment,” by mayor Jim Lane and the Scottsdale city council to commercial use, for a developer who […]
The most important government
SRP’s Trish Moeck posted a well-written article (which I’ve copied below) yesterday on the Scottsdale Leadership website, and I’d like to use as a jumping-off point for an expanded look at some of the topics Trish discussed. As you may know, Scottsdale Leadership is at its core a training program run by the Scottsdale Area […]