Chris Elmendorf
@cselmendorf.bsky.social
The law prof at UC Davis. Dad. Denizen of San Francisco. Patron of Amtrak. Tweets are my own, not statements of UC. (he/him)
Reposted by Chris Elmendorf
I’ve found the impulse to “break up the massing” to be a received wisdom of planners regardless of the frontage width or any other considerations such as construction quality and maintainability.
The fact that it was identified as basically unsupported by public so early is even worse somehow.
The fact that it was identified as basically unsupported by public so early is even worse somehow.
November 9, 2025 at 5:30 AM
I’ve found the impulse to “break up the massing” to be a received wisdom of planners regardless of the frontage width or any other considerations such as construction quality and maintainability.
The fact that it was identified as basically unsupported by public so early is even worse somehow.
The fact that it was identified as basically unsupported by public so early is even worse somehow.
Cross-posting my discovery of the day. This guy could have been the Shoup of design review.
He's was a random architect working from home in Bernal Heights. Never had a faculty position.
He churned out scores of academic papers and one great book.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19873...
He's was a random architect working from home in Bernal Heights. Never had a faculty position.
He churned out scores of academic papers and one great book.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19873...
Thread by @CSElmendorf on Thread Reader App
@CSElmendorf: I stumbled across the work of Arthur E. Stamps III this morning and, wow, my eyes have been opened! He's was (is?) an architect in San Francisco who wrote scores of academic papers on th...
threadreaderapp.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Cross-posting my discovery of the day. This guy could have been the Shoup of design review.
He's was a random architect working from home in Bernal Heights. Never had a faculty position.
He churned out scores of academic papers and one great book.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19873...
He's was a random architect working from home in Bernal Heights. Never had a faculty position.
He churned out scores of academic papers and one great book.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19873...
Reposted by Chris Elmendorf
One way to reduce condo defect liability: stop forcing architects to design buildings that leak. HCD’s “objective design standards” guide *encourages* making building envelopes more complex, heightening leak and therefore defect lawsuit risk cao-94612.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/documents/Ap...
November 7, 2025 at 2:42 AM
One way to reduce condo defect liability: stop forcing architects to design buildings that leak. HCD’s “objective design standards” guide *encourages* making building envelopes more complex, heightening leak and therefore defect lawsuit risk cao-94612.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/documents/Ap...
Reposted by Chris Elmendorf
If you want a zoning code that delivers abundant and affordable housing, pass a ballot initiative that requires your city to hire a city economist, and directs them to study the economic impacts of all proposed ordinances and publicly disclose the results. #SanFrancisco voters did. It’s paying off!😀
November 1, 2025 at 9:15 PM
If you want a zoning code that delivers abundant and affordable housing, pass a ballot initiative that requires your city to hire a city economist, and directs them to study the economic impacts of all proposed ordinances and publicly disclose the results. #SanFrancisco voters did. It’s paying off!😀
Reposted by Chris Elmendorf
@ucdavis.bsky.social Law Professor @cselmendorf.bsky.social via @sfchronicle.com
🔗: www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
#UCDavisLaw #UCDavis #LawSchool #Faculty #Law
🔗: www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
#UCDavisLaw #UCDavis #LawSchool #Faculty #Law
October 30, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Driving to Davis to teach a Saturday morning class is not my idea of a good time, but it was so fun welcoming prospective
@ucdavislaw.bsky.social students today w/ the story of California's builder's remedy.
Especially b/c I got to feature my former students Jordan Wright & Marissa Fuentes!
@ucdavislaw.bsky.social students today w/ the story of California's builder's remedy.
Especially b/c I got to feature my former students Jordan Wright & Marissa Fuentes!
November 1, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Driving to Davis to teach a Saturday morning class is not my idea of a good time, but it was so fun welcoming prospective
@ucdavislaw.bsky.social students today w/ the story of California's builder's remedy.
Especially b/c I got to feature my former students Jordan Wright & Marissa Fuentes!
@ucdavislaw.bsky.social students today w/ the story of California's builder's remedy.
Especially b/c I got to feature my former students Jordan Wright & Marissa Fuentes!
On paths forward for the Housing Element Law. (Leg attention needed!)
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19839...
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19839...
Thread by @CSElmendorf on Thread Reader App
@CSElmendorf: The SF City Economist report on city's housing-element rezone is a nice bookend to the Court of Appeal's decision last month in New Commune v. Redondo Beach. Put them together, and it's ...
threadreaderapp.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:56 PM
On paths forward for the Housing Element Law. (Leg attention needed!)
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19839...
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19839...
October 30, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Or just authorize @california-hcd.bsky.social to issue interpretations that are binding until a court disagrees. (Similar to status of a disapproved housing element.)
California should pass a law to clean up #AB2097, which removed most minimum parking mandates near transit. UCLA's Amy Lee, A. Millard-Ball and M. Manville have given us a road map for how to do that. Basically, put the "expansive interpretations" in this table into law.
October 24, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Or just authorize @california-hcd.bsky.social to issue interpretations that are binding until a court disagrees. (Similar to status of a disapproved housing element.)
Relaying a message from the mayor.
October 23, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Relaying a message from the mayor.
Reposted by Chris Elmendorf
Fantastic analysis.
🧵 on new stinker of a CEQA opinion.
Here's hoping @gavinnewsom.bsky.social, @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov, @buffywicks.bsky.social, @scottwiener.bsky.social, & leaders of Assembly & Senate housing & nat'l res. committees will join Mayor Gloria's petition for review.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19807...
Here's hoping @gavinnewsom.bsky.social, @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov, @buffywicks.bsky.social, @scottwiener.bsky.social, & leaders of Assembly & Senate housing & nat'l res. committees will join Mayor Gloria's petition for review.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19807...
Thread by @CSElmendorf on Thread Reader App
@CSElmendorf: New CEQA opinion nixing (again!) the voters' repeal of a 30' height limit in San Diego is a near-perfect vehicle for CA Supreme Court to jettison the worst of "Old CEQA." Very glad that ...
threadreaderapp.com
October 22, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Fantastic analysis.
🧵 on new stinker of a CEQA opinion.
Here's hoping @gavinnewsom.bsky.social, @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov, @buffywicks.bsky.social, @scottwiener.bsky.social, & leaders of Assembly & Senate housing & nat'l res. committees will join Mayor Gloria's petition for review.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19807...
Here's hoping @gavinnewsom.bsky.social, @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov, @buffywicks.bsky.social, @scottwiener.bsky.social, & leaders of Assembly & Senate housing & nat'l res. committees will join Mayor Gloria's petition for review.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19807...
Thread by @CSElmendorf on Thread Reader App
@CSElmendorf: New CEQA opinion nixing (again!) the voters' repeal of a 30' height limit in San Diego is a near-perfect vehicle for CA Supreme Court to jettison the worst of "Old CEQA." Very glad that ...
threadreaderapp.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:01 AM
🧵 on new stinker of a CEQA opinion.
Here's hoping @gavinnewsom.bsky.social, @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov, @buffywicks.bsky.social, @scottwiener.bsky.social, & leaders of Assembly & Senate housing & nat'l res. committees will join Mayor Gloria's petition for review.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19807...
Here's hoping @gavinnewsom.bsky.social, @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov, @buffywicks.bsky.social, @scottwiener.bsky.social, & leaders of Assembly & Senate housing & nat'l res. committees will join Mayor Gloria's petition for review.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19807...
Cross-posting my 🧵 on latest version of the @caforever.bsky.social plan.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19786...
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19786...
Thread by @CSElmendorf on Thread Reader App
@CSElmendorf: I read the @CAForever Specific Plan. It's exciting! Here's a 🧵w/ some highlights & questions. 1/23 First off: the grid & internal transit plan is fantastic. There's a bike/ped/greenway g...
threadreaderapp.com
October 22, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Cross-posting my 🧵 on latest version of the @caforever.bsky.social plan.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19786...
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19786...
Now that SB 79 is the law, I've completed my initial series of threads on the bill. Here they are:
#4 (for local electeds): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19777...
#5.1 (for the Leg, near term): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19777...
#5.2 (for the Leg, longer term): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19778...
#4 (for local electeds): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19777...
#5.1 (for the Leg, near term): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19777...
#5.2 (for the Leg, longer term): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19778...
Thread by @CSElmendorf on Thread Reader App
@CSElmendorf: Now that @GavinNewsom has signed SB 79, it's time to write #4 and #5 of the threads I promised. This is SB 79 🧵#4: Advice for local gov't officials. Read it if you're feeling stuck...
threadreaderapp.com
October 13, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Now that SB 79 is the law, I've completed my initial series of threads on the bill. Here they are:
#4 (for local electeds): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19777...
#5.1 (for the Leg, near term): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19777...
#5.2 (for the Leg, longer term): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19778...
#4 (for local electeds): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19777...
#5.1 (for the Leg, near term): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19777...
#5.2 (for the Leg, longer term): threadreaderapp.com/thread/19778...
I am a little more skeptical than @lorettodave.bsky.social, however, about BR projects filed prior to HCD revoking its finding of compliance or a court finding the city in question out of compliance.
t.co/NFBJvpGptg
t.co/NFBJvpGptg
October 11, 2025 at 9:11 PM
I am a little more skeptical than @lorettodave.bsky.social, however, about BR projects filed prior to HCD revoking its finding of compliance or a court finding the city in question out of compliance.
t.co/NFBJvpGptg
t.co/NFBJvpGptg
Big new Court of Appeal decision on housing element law came down yesterday (New Commune v. Redondo Beach). We could be see a new spate of builder's remedy projects in lots of cities, now or very soon.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19768...
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19768...
Thread by @CSElmendorf on Thread Reader App
@CSElmendorf: BIG new decision from Court of Appeal on housing-element law. @DRand2024 says mid-cycle builder's remedy projects are coming soon. S/t one small caveat, I agree! The decision also has bi...
threadreaderapp.com
October 11, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Big new Court of Appeal decision on housing element law came down yesterday (New Commune v. Redondo Beach). We could be see a new spate of builder's remedy projects in lots of cities, now or very soon.
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19768...
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19768...
Exciting job opportunity, courtesy of @ssrc.org & @arnoldventures.bsky.social: Come build the "Abundance Academic Network" (name is still TBD) as the inaugural Program Director!
job-boards.greenhouse.io/socialscienc...
1/2
job-boards.greenhouse.io/socialscienc...
1/2
October 8, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Exciting job opportunity, courtesy of @ssrc.org & @arnoldventures.bsky.social: Come build the "Abundance Academic Network" (name is still TBD) as the inaugural Program Director!
job-boards.greenhouse.io/socialscienc...
1/2
job-boards.greenhouse.io/socialscienc...
1/2
Reposted by Chris Elmendorf
Americans understand supply and demand when it comes to cars and crops, but struggle to apply the same logic to housing markets. We spoke with @cselmendorf.bsky.social of UC Davis about what this might mean for economic messaging on housing policy. #ResearchHighlight www.aeaweb.org/research/hou...
Housing supply skepticism
Christopher Elmendorf discusses the views of the US public on the housing market.
www.aeaweb.org
October 8, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Americans understand supply and demand when it comes to cars and crops, but struggle to apply the same logic to housing markets. We spoke with @cselmendorf.bsky.social of UC Davis about what this might mean for economic messaging on housing policy. #ResearchHighlight www.aeaweb.org/research/hou...
Cross-posting at @volts.wtf's request, threadreaderapp.com/thread/19748...
Thread by @CSElmendorf on Thread Reader App
@CSElmendorf: I wrote a long 🧵 yesterday on my puzzlement about the chatter that @GavinNewsom or his advisors might think it'd be politically prudent to veto SB 79. Today I'll explain why I don't thin...
threadreaderapp.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Cross-posting at @volts.wtf's request, threadreaderapp.com/thread/19748...
September 20, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Cross posting by popular demand.
- SB 79 Thread #1: The Big Picture
1/🧵
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19669...
- SB 79 Thread #1: The Big Picture
1/🧵
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19669...
September 20, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Cross posting by popular demand.
- SB 79 Thread #1: The Big Picture
1/🧵
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19669...
- SB 79 Thread #1: The Big Picture
1/🧵
threadreaderapp.com/thread/19669...
If you're a thinker or do-er in the housing space and you haven't subscribed to @michaelwiebe.bsky.social's substack, you're doing it wrong!
It's a living urban econ lit review, inspired by @mattsclancy.bsky.social's New Things Under the Sun.
Great stuff! Here's an example ⤵️.
It's a living urban econ lit review, inspired by @mattsclancy.bsky.social's New Things Under the Sun.
Great stuff! Here's an example ⤵️.
September 20, 2025 at 8:35 PM
If you're a thinker or do-er in the housing space and you haven't subscribed to @michaelwiebe.bsky.social's substack, you're doing it wrong!
It's a living urban econ lit review, inspired by @mattsclancy.bsky.social's New Things Under the Sun.
Great stuff! Here's an example ⤵️.
It's a living urban econ lit review, inspired by @mattsclancy.bsky.social's New Things Under the Sun.
Great stuff! Here's an example ⤵️.
Reposted by Chris Elmendorf
Yes.
Great piece on the "Folk Economics of Housing" here by @stano.bsky.social @cselmendorf.bsky.social, et al.
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Great piece on the "Folk Economics of Housing" here by @stano.bsky.social @cselmendorf.bsky.social, et al.
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
The Folk Economics of Housing
(Summer 2025) - Why is housing supply so severely restricted in US cities and suburbs? Urban economists offer two primary hypotheses: homeowner self-interest and political fragmentation. Homeowners, w...
www.aeaweb.org
September 19, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Yes.
Great piece on the "Folk Economics of Housing" here by @stano.bsky.social @cselmendorf.bsky.social, et al.
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Great piece on the "Folk Economics of Housing" here by @stano.bsky.social @cselmendorf.bsky.social, et al.
www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Things I never thought I would see, or say. Big props to Sen. Wahab!
Senator Wahab, initially opposed to the bill, speaks in support, noting the limited path to homeownership in California. The process is working!
September 12, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Things I never thought I would see, or say. Big props to Sen. Wahab!
"[W]hen I hear leaders I respect hesitating, quibbling over whether SB79 is 100% perfect, I have to ask: What world are you living in?"
- Tom Steyer, climate leader & philanthropist, in today's
@sfchronicle.com
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
- Tom Steyer, climate leader & philanthropist, in today's
@sfchronicle.com
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
California needs to pass zoning reform — and build new housing — in order to prosper
OPINION: “If we want to revitalize our cities, we need to change how we build. That’s exactly what California Senate Bill 79 sets out to do,” Tom Steyer writes.
www.sfchronicle.com
August 25, 2025 at 5:07 PM
"[W]hen I hear leaders I respect hesitating, quibbling over whether SB79 is 100% perfect, I have to ask: What world are you living in?"
- Tom Steyer, climate leader & philanthropist, in today's
@sfchronicle.com
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
- Tom Steyer, climate leader & philanthropist, in today's
@sfchronicle.com
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...