I live in Providence, RI, which, like my hometown of St. Louis and every other pre-war U.S. city, contains a diverse mix of building styles co-mingled on small lots. The home I own is a two-family; I live upstairs and rent the bottom unit, just like many generations of owner-occupiers in Providence have done before me. My neighborhood is a mix of single-family homes on small lots, duplexes like my own, some great examples of the vaunted triple-decker, and all kinds of other buildings, besides.
This is a very natural way for cities to develop. So natural, in fact, that it's how every city in the country did develop before planners made that development pattern illegal via zoning. SB 9 isn't some kind of radical new way of doing things; it's a partial unwinding of rules that prevented the kinds of development that occurs when the market is allowed to meet the demands of buyers and sellers.
At some point in Providence's history they changed the rules here, too. My building is "non-conforming." It'd be illegal to build a two-family home on this lot today. Further, my building has a generous side lot, which was at some point combined with my own lot into one, leaving a conspicuous gap between my house and its neighbor. I would love to sell this land to a developer and would welcome an SB-9-style law in Rhode Island.
This is a very natural way for cities to develop. So natural, in fact, that it's how every city in the country did develop before planners made that development pattern illegal via zoning. SB 9 isn't some kind of radical new way of doing things; it's a partial unwinding of rules that prevented the kinds of development that occurs when the market is allowed to meet the demands of buyers and sellers.
At some point in Providence's history they changed the rules here, too. My building is "non-conforming." It'd be illegal to build a two-family home on this lot today. Further, my building has a generous side lot, which was at some point combined with my own lot into one, leaving a conspicuous gap between my house and its neighbor. I would love to sell this land to a developer and would welcome an SB-9-style law in Rhode Island.