Advocates for linkage fees as a tool to enable the construction of additional have encountered stiff resistance in some of the country's most populated areas.
"Following the lead of other California cities, Mayor Eric Garcetti two years ago proposed charging a fee on construction and using those funds to build affordable housing in Los Angeles," reports Dakota Smith. "But amid mounting questions, a City Council committee last week put off a vote on Garcetti’s plan until late July or beyond."
According to Smith, the fee proposal has encountered opposition from business groups and some academics, "who say the fee would slow construction in a city grappling with a housing crisis." Smith quotes Michael Manville, a professor of urban planning at UCLA, for an example of the academic case against linkage fees.
Rachel Dovey followed up on Smith's reporting with an article for Next City, adding some additional case studies of how other local and state governments have treated linkage fees. The state of Texas, for instance, prohibited linkage fees to preempt an ordinance under consideration in Austin.
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