Why Cities Should Back Off of Setbacks

Josh Stephens on May 16, 2017

http://www.cp-dr.com/articles/20170513

Insightful excerpt from an article from 2017.

Setbacks are the currency of anti-development activism. Homeowners who like their cities and their property values just fine don’t care how far away a building is from a street. They’re likely only to see those buildings at 35 miles per hour anyway, and probably from a lane or two away (plus a few feet if there’s a devil strip). But they know how to push planners around.

For them, setbacks are just a bargaining chip – a palpable way to stick it to developers. Setbacks persist because they are quantifiable and negotiable. Once opponents have whittled down the number of units or the amount of floor space in a project, they can bring on the setbacks. The developer wants a setback of zero feet. Neighbors want a setback of ten feet. When it gets settled at five feet, the neighbors chalk up a win.

Why is that a win? Because they don’t care in the first place. They gain nothing, except for a five-foot pain-in-the-ass for the developer and a lousy place to take a stroll. This isn’t advocacy, and it’s certainly not planning. This is urban trolling.

Ballot Guide Candidate Statement

I moved into Rancho Cordova in 1973 when my parents bought their first home in the Mills Park-Croetto neighborhood. I graduated from Cordova High School, attended American River and Cosumnes River College. I served as a member of the Rancho Cordova Incorporation Committee.

My experiences advocating for change in my neighborhood enabled me to develop conflict resolution skills, a value of respecting different views and the importance of actively listening to people.

During the 1980s-1990s, my parents and neighbors struggled to find solutions to address blight, crime, traffic safety and failing infrastructure, such as roads, sidewalks. Cityhood changed that, but recently, residents have been increasingly excluded as stakeholders.

Rancho Cordovans should be full partners in developing projects and policies that avoid the problems of the past, dividing our community. We deserve to be involved in the decisions that impact our quality of life and economic opportunities. Citizens of every other city in Sacramento County benefit from due process and inclusion a planning commission brings to the land use planning and zoning decisions that affect them.

In 2011, the Rancho Cordova Planning Commission was suspended to benefit developers. If elected, I will work to restore the Planning Commission.
https://childs4citycouncil.com