Banning Single Family zoning in Austin? Just say no!

The following call to action by education policy activist Brian Talley was sent by the Travis County Republican Party. Over 300 people are reportedly signed up to speak to the Austin City Council today on this critical issue to the city's future.

Banning singe-family zoning has been a Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) talking point, and a Biden administration agenda item, for quite some time. They call it exclusionary zoning because it limits the number of units and families per lot. Here is [Congressman and former Austin City Council member] Greg Casar promoting his work to "dismantling exclusionary zoning laws" back in September of 2019.

As you will also see, the socialists also want government owned housing, rent control, tenant rights over landlord rights, and wealth redistribution. Socialism!

As you can see from the post card displayed above, the City of Austin is seeking to end single-family zoning, as we know it today, in Austin Texas. We are told that lots with HOA’s and some deed restricted communities are excluded. But what could this mean for Austin and single-family homeowners?

This could mean a single-family homeowner could wake up one day soon with six homes directly next door. Three on one side and three on the other. And that could come with the traffic, parking, privacy and space concerns one might imagine with seven families living on three single-family lots next to each other.

Magnify this by all the qualifying single-family lots city-wide and this could be a disaster! This will create a lot more traffic and parking congestion on streets and more infrastructure and maintenance costs. Not to mention this could impact crime requiring more police when we already have a shortage.

Don't be fooled by the socialist talking point that this will reduce home prices by providing more housing. An upzoning study in Chicago actually proved costs increased.

The liberal author of the study, Yonah Freemark, says in the article "I found an increase in property values in upzoned areas roughly equivalent to the increase in allowed density. This finding extended to existing residential units in some of the models I used, indicating that the cost of living in certain neighborhoods actually increased in the period I examined."

While the Travis GOP is pro-housing and pro-growth, we believe property rights extend beyond the ability to build whatever one wants on their single-family lots. Homeowners often purchase single-family properties for the space and privacy that they offer compared to multi-family. That's part of the "social contract" that comes with chosing to live in a city. As a residential real estate agent I would know: Single-family homes are very popular among families with kids, for example, and I believe this has contributed to homeowner satisfaction enhancing the American dream of homeownership.

Therefore the Travis GOP believes strongly in maintaining the integrity of single-family neighborhoods. It's a right homeowners should have regardless of their political affiliation. It comes as no surprise, then, that homeowners are labeled NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard) by our locally elected Democratic Party leaders and their Leftist/socialist peers when homeowners speak up about preserving those rights of privacy and neighborhood integrity.

Per the post card (pictured above), it appears homeowners will have the opportunity to voice their opinions. Be sure to pass this information along and voice your opinions to our city leadership. This initiative seems to have largely fallen under the radar.

To conclude, Republicans are wide open to ideas for strategic growth such as density and smart zones around transportation and other strategic locations. For example, Rainey Street is an excellent location for dense housing and retail. There are places like the Robinson Ranch where entire dense cities with mass transportation can be build from scratch. But we are not in favor of banning single-family zoning and turning Austin into an even worse traffic mess with three units per lot.

Here is an article covering the topic called "Hands Off Housing" for further reading.

Contact the City Council today and tell them you favor preserving Single-Family zoning in Austin!