Ballot Box Zoning

An overhead image of a large wooden building as it's being constructed.

Ballot Initiative Could Overturn California's Zoning Reforms

The "mother of all NIMBY initiatives" is seeking signatures to qualify for the statewide ballot in California.

February 15, 2022 - James Brasuell

Suburban Community

Strict Growth Limits Set By Colorado's Fifth-Largest City

Residents of the city of Lakewood have approved a ballot measure that caps annual residential development and requires City Council approval of all developments over 40 units.

July 8, 2019 - The Denver Post

Sprawl

Opponents Winning the Fundraising Battle Ahead of Anti-Development Measure in Colorado

Fundraisers have been busy in an effort to defeat the anti-development measures included in Question 200, which will appear before voters in Lakewood, Colorado in July.

June 18, 2019 - The Denver Post

Suburban Community

Slow-Growth Measure Headed to the Ballot in Colorado's Fifth-Largest City

Voters in Lakewood, Colorado, have a chance to enact anti-development policies that would place new limits on the number of new housing units that could be built in the city, while also placing new controls on the approvals process.

April 9, 2019 - The Denver Post

Oakwood Modernist House

Raleigh Could Legalize Accessory Dwelling Units—With Lots of Strings Attached

Residents in parts of Raleigh would be allowed to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on their property, if a majority of their neighbors approve the idea.

September 6, 2018 - The News & Observer

The Embarcadero

Trial Over San Francisco Waterfront Development Height Limits Begins

The State Lands Commission filed suit shortly after San Francisco voters approved Prop. B in June 2014, requiring waterfront developments exceeding height limits to obtain voter approval rather than go through the Planning Commission process.

January 15, 2018 - San Francisco Examiner

Golden Gate

Bay Area Election Roundup: Wetlands, Housing, Ballot-Box Planning, Sales Tax

A regional measure to tax all property owners in the 9-county Bay Area to adapt to sea level rise passes; S.F. voters support raising the affordable housing bar; Richmond voters reject ballot-box planning; San José approves sales tax increase.

June 9, 2016 - Planetizen

Construction Worker

'Neighborhood Integrity Initiative' Would Put Plan Amendments to a Vote in L.A.

A group of activists calling themselves the Coalition to Preserve L.A. has announced initiations to seek a ballot initiative that would enact a moratorium on projects requiring changes to the city's General Plan.

November 19, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Drastic Ballot Box Zoning Measure Under Consideration in Boulder

Voters in the Colorado town of Boulder will consider a city charter amendment that would assign land use regulation power to 66 neighborhood-level voting districts.

October 9, 2015 - CityLab

San Francisco Giants Development Plans Will Compete at the Ballot Box

Approval for a 28-acre, mixed-use development just south of AT&T Park in San Francisco will appear on the ballot in November. Also appearing on the ballot: a much smaller project, with a larger share of affordable housing.

June 5, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Waterfront Heights Lawsuit Moves Forward

The lawsuit would not restrict heights—just the opposite. Back in June, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly backed Proposition B to restrict building heights along the waterfront. The State Lands Commission sued.

March 27, 2015 - San Francisco Chroncile

Where Have All the Anti-Tech Protestors Gone?

In San Francisco at this time last year, Google bus protestors and Ellis Act rage were making the news everyday. The City seems a little more...adjusted these days.

February 11, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Poll: San Francisco Loves the Tech Industry

San Francisco Mayor Ed lee is so far running unopposed for re-election next Fall, which means that voters won't be offered a chance for a referendum on his support for the tech industry.

February 4, 2015 - San Francisco

San Francisco Voters Increase Height Limits for Waterfront Development

Voters gave Forest City Enterprises' Pier 70 development the go-ahead on Tuesday by increasing height limits from 40 to 90 feet. The 65-acre property will be developed into mixed use, with 2,000 housing units, 30 percent affordable, and open space.

November 9, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Plan B: Port of San Francisco Moves Forward with New Land Use Plan

Voters might not want big changes along San Francisco's waterfront—but one powerful agent there, the Port of San Francisco, is examining new ways to do the business of building in the face of pressures from sea level rise and opposition politics.

August 13, 2014 - SFGate

State Lands Commission Sues to Overturn San Francisco's Prop B

Not so fast, San Francisco Prop B (the approved measure requiring voter approval for projects exceeding height limits along the waterfront). The State Lands Commission has a legal bone to pick.

July 16, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Approves Prop B Height Restrictions

The eventuality predicted since San Francisco's Prop. B qualified for the ballot has come to pass, with more than 59 percent of San Francisco voters approving the ordinance that will require votes on developments exceeding existing height limits.

June 4, 2014 - SFGate

San Francisco Initiative Preempts Prop B—Asks Voters for Additional Height at Pier 70

Developer Forest City is getting a jump on the ballot box zoning trend in San Francisco. According to reports, the developer will go to the voters to ask for increased height for a large development at Pier 70 in the neighborhood known as Dogpatch.

May 17, 2014 - San Francisco Business Times

Ferry Building San Francisco

With Ballot Box Zoning Likely to Pass—What Next for San Francisco?

C.W. Nevius examines the consequences of Proposition B—on the ballot in San Francisco in June.

May 12, 2014 - SFGate

Golden State Warriors Drop Pier 30-32 Arena Plans

In what is surely a victory for opponents of waterfront development along the Embarcadero corridor in San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors have purchased a new site farther south, near AT&T Park and the UCSF Mission Bay campus, for a new arena.

April 22, 2014 - SF Weekly

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