Sid Kapur
@sid-kap.bsky.social
ML engineer, interested in housing/transit/history/econ
📍Greater Boerum Hill Historic District, USA
📍Greater Boerum Hill Historic District, USA
Trying to understand how expensive providing low-income IZ units is in California under SDBL/SB79.
If I did the math right (HUD low-income limit * 0.6/0.8*0.3/12, since HUD low-income limit is 80% of AMI but California low-income per HSC 50053 is 60% of AMI), this doesn't seem very onerous?
If I did the math right (HUD low-income limit * 0.6/0.8*0.3/12, since HUD low-income limit is 80% of AMI but California low-income per HSC 50053 is 60% of AMI), this doesn't seem very onerous?
September 13, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Trying to understand how expensive providing low-income IZ units is in California under SDBL/SB79.
If I did the math right (HUD low-income limit * 0.6/0.8*0.3/12, since HUD low-income limit is 80% of AMI but California low-income per HSC 50053 is 60% of AMI), this doesn't seem very onerous?
If I did the math right (HUD low-income limit * 0.6/0.8*0.3/12, since HUD low-income limit is 80% of AMI but California low-income per HSC 50053 is 60% of AMI), this doesn't seem very onerous?
I imagine there will be a divide at YIMBYtown this year where people from most states want to learn things while the Californians, Oregonians, Washingtonians, and Texans just want to party
September 13, 2025 at 12:16 AM
I imagine there will be a divide at YIMBYtown this year where people from most states want to learn things while the Californians, Oregonians, Washingtonians, and Texans just want to party
The new CA State Assembly website (www.assembly.ca.gov) is so much worse than the old one (web.archive.org/web/20250825...). Bring back 2000s high density web design!
September 10, 2025 at 10:54 PM
The new CA State Assembly website (www.assembly.ca.gov) is so much worse than the old one (web.archive.org/web/20250825...). Bring back 2000s high density web design!
SB840 bans FAR limits in all multifamily zones and requires all multifamily zones in a city have the same height and density limit.
Since all of Austin now has missing middle zoning, does that mean all residential lots in Austin now have basically no density, FAR, or height limits?? Just setbacks?
Since all of Austin now has missing middle zoning, does that mean all residential lots in Austin now have basically no density, FAR, or height limits?? Just setbacks?
SB840 day is coming up next Monday: soon it will be legal to build apartments wherever you can build shops in medium-to-large cities throughout Texas!
Characteristically, Austin's bureaucracy can't respond with speed and instead plans to update its code sometime in Spring.
Characteristically, Austin's bureaucracy can't respond with speed and instead plans to update its code sometime in Spring.
August 28, 2025 at 9:07 PM
SB840 bans FAR limits in all multifamily zones and requires all multifamily zones in a city have the same height and density limit.
Since all of Austin now has missing middle zoning, does that mean all residential lots in Austin now have basically no density, FAR, or height limits?? Just setbacks?
Since all of Austin now has missing middle zoning, does that mean all residential lots in Austin now have basically no density, FAR, or height limits?? Just setbacks?
In response to SB840, Plano added multifamily residential as an allowed use in all commercial zones, and also updated all multifamily zones to:
- Remove density, FAR, lot coverage limits
- Increase height limit to 45 ft
- Reduce front yard requirement to 25 ft
- Reduce parking requirement to 1/unit
- Remove density, FAR, lot coverage limits
- Increase height limit to 45 ft
- Reduce front yard requirement to 25 ft
- Reduce parking requirement to 1/unit
August 27, 2025 at 6:15 PM
In response to SB840, Plano added multifamily residential as an allowed use in all commercial zones, and also updated all multifamily zones to:
- Remove density, FAR, lot coverage limits
- Increase height limit to 45 ft
- Reduce front yard requirement to 25 ft
- Reduce parking requirement to 1/unit
- Remove density, FAR, lot coverage limits
- Increase height limit to 45 ft
- Reduce front yard requirement to 25 ft
- Reduce parking requirement to 1/unit
wtf, Dumbo Market is owned by Key Foods?? 🤯
August 23, 2025 at 1:51 AM
wtf, Dumbo Market is owned by Key Foods?? 🤯
I was today years old when I realized this album cover is a reference to suicide
June 18, 2025 at 5:07 AM
I was today years old when I realized this album cover is a reference to suicide
Housing crisis in Unincorporated LA County (and other cities with similarly lax SFH development standards) will be solved in 24 days
Unincorporated LA County R-1 imposes 35 ft height, front setback 20 ft. SB 1123 allows side/rear setbacks 4 ft. No FAR limits because the underlying zone doesn't have them.
Besides the front setback, this seems really flexible!! Should actually be able to fit 4-7 big townhouses or condos
Besides the front setback, this seems really flexible!! Should actually be able to fit 4-7 big townhouses or condos
June 7, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Housing crisis in Unincorporated LA County (and other cities with similarly lax SFH development standards) will be solved in 24 days
Chat what do we think about caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2022/10/11/w...
Why high speed rail hasn’t caught on
High Speed Rail (HSR) has been in the news, with a recent New York Times article listing some of the reasons that the California HSR project seems unlikely to ever be completed. Quite aside from Ca…
caseyhandmer.wordpress.com
June 2, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Chat what do we think about caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2022/10/11/w...
Republicans killed Plano Tomorrow and then 4 years later applied Plano Tomorrow to the whole state
Quite possibly the biggest upzoning in American history
May 26, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Republicans killed Plano Tomorrow and then 4 years later applied Plano Tomorrow to the whole state
This article is actually pretty great? It's way more detailed and precise than a typical article about a bill in Congress
There should be more articles with Wikipedia-style lists of facts presented neutrally
There should be more articles with Wikipedia-style lists of facts presented neutrally
CHATGPT IS NOT A JOURNALIST
CHATGPT RESPONSES ARENT JOURNALISM
HIRE JOURNALISTS
CHATGPT RESPONSES ARENT JOURNALISM
HIRE JOURNALISTS
What's in Trump's "big beautiful bill"? ChatGPT breaks it down
Newsweek asked ChatGPT to summarize the president's spending bill.
www.newsweek.com
May 21, 2025 at 6:34 AM
This article is actually pretty great? It's way more detailed and precise than a typical article about a bill in Congress
There should be more articles with Wikipedia-style lists of facts presented neutrally
There should be more articles with Wikipedia-style lists of facts presented neutrally
In 2024, Detroit permitted more housing per capita than San Francisco, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Boston, Washington DC, and Philadelphia
May 4, 2025 at 3:44 AM
In 2024, Detroit permitted more housing per capita than San Francisco, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Boston, Washington DC, and Philadelphia
Would be cool if Google uses this as an opportunity to update Street View pictures of Market St that haven't been updated in years (some parts in 2019, some in 2022).
Might be hard to fit Street View cameras on top of a Waymo without interfering with the LIDAR though
www.sf.gov/news-mayor-l...
Might be hard to fit Street View cameras on top of a Waymo without interfering with the LIDAR though
www.sf.gov/news-mayor-l...
Mayor Lurie Welcomes Autonomous Vehicles To Market Street As Part of Revitalization of Downtown San Francisco | SF.gov
Continues City’s History of Innovation While Expanding Access to Local Businesses Downtown; Builds on Mayor Lurie’s Plan to Support Small Businesses Downtown and across San Francisco by Creating Five ...
www.sf.gov
May 1, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Would be cool if Google uses this as an opportunity to update Street View pictures of Market St that haven't been updated in years (some parts in 2019, some in 2022).
Might be hard to fit Street View cameras on top of a Waymo without interfering with the LIDAR though
www.sf.gov/news-mayor-l...
Might be hard to fit Street View cameras on top of a Waymo without interfering with the LIDAR though
www.sf.gov/news-mayor-l...
Supposedly Newsom told both the CA Senate and Assembly leaders to read Abundance...
youtu.be/Bt_LQNS7hmU?... (at 33:55)
youtu.be/Bt_LQNS7hmU?... (at 33:55)
And, This is Ezra Klein | This is Gavin Newsom
YouTube video by This is Gavin Newsom
youtu.be
April 20, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Supposedly Newsom told both the CA Senate and Assembly leaders to read Abundance...
youtu.be/Bt_LQNS7hmU?... (at 33:55)
youtu.be/Bt_LQNS7hmU?... (at 33:55)
California spent years debating social housing, while Oregon just... did it?
5. SB 684, from @senkhanhpham.bsky.social, lets Oregon explore a new (but globally popular) way to finance below-market housing: put it in the same building as market rate homes, then use the revenue to build more homes.
olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/M...
olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/M...
SB684 2025 Regular Session - Oregon Legislative Information System
olis.oregonlegislature.gov
April 14, 2025 at 8:10 PM
California spent years debating social housing, while Oregon just... did it?
What's the latest on Berkeley's missing middle ordinance?
February 11, 2025 at 3:42 AM
What's the latest on Berkeley's missing middle ordinance?
Does anyone know what Urban Kchoze is up to/their reaction to the single stair movement?
Wild that an anon blogger wrote these posts that have in the 5-10 years since inspired numerous white papers, state bills, etc. and we haven't heard anything from them since
Wild that an anon blogger wrote these posts that have in the 5-10 years since inspired numerous white papers, state bills, etc. and we haven't heard anything from them since
January 24, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Does anyone know what Urban Kchoze is up to/their reaction to the single stair movement?
Wild that an anon blogger wrote these posts that have in the 5-10 years since inspired numerous white papers, state bills, etc. and we haven't heard anything from them since
Wild that an anon blogger wrote these posts that have in the 5-10 years since inspired numerous white papers, state bills, etc. and we haven't heard anything from them since
NYC single stair twitter/Adam Neely fan crosspost
behold, the video they show at fire-marshal school to strike fear into the hearts of novices
youtu.be/5B8i1Fpa0yQ
youtu.be/5B8i1Fpa0yQ
Shubh Saran - Slip (Apartment Sessions)
YouTube video by Apartment Sessions
youtu.be
January 19, 2025 at 2:28 AM
NYC single stair twitter/Adam Neely fan crosspost
Did not realize Seattle rents increased that much from 1997 to 2007, I understand why Ben Gibbard is a NIMBY now
(Apologies for my 2010s-era tweeting, I am old)
(Apologies for my 2010s-era tweeting, I am old)
seattle as a whole almost did between 1997-2007, there are definitely neighborhoods where rent more than doubled in that timeframe and that was with a 16% increase in housing stock
January 13, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Did not realize Seattle rents increased that much from 1997 to 2007, I understand why Ben Gibbard is a NIMBY now
(Apologies for my 2010s-era tweeting, I am old)
(Apologies for my 2010s-era tweeting, I am old)
Is Polis the first governor to use the words "stair reform" in a speech??
Also, big news for the single-stair case housing nerds. Looks like the Colorado legislature is gonna take that on this session:
January 9, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Is Polis the first governor to use the words "stair reform" in a speech??
When we end up upzoning Southern Brooklyn and Eastern Queens for midrise, we really need to (1) expand single-stair to larger floor plates and multiple PABs per building, and (2) make some new zoning categories with higher height/lower FAR
I want setbacks and green space, not Park Slope 2.0
I want setbacks and green space, not Park Slope 2.0
it varies - even on that street it's a combo of zero lot lines and just front setbacks, and front and side yard setbacks...
but guessing it's a combo of changing building regs and more flexibility due to lower FAR
but guessing it's a combo of changing building regs and more flexibility due to lower FAR
January 4, 2025 at 10:23 PM
When we end up upzoning Southern Brooklyn and Eastern Queens for midrise, we really need to (1) expand single-stair to larger floor plates and multiple PABs per building, and (2) make some new zoning categories with higher height/lower FAR
I want setbacks and green space, not Park Slope 2.0
I want setbacks and green space, not Park Slope 2.0
Reposted by Sid Kapur
Don't want to discourage anyone from subscribing, but I think you can get the density allowed by AB 1893 by multiplying "Parcel Size" and "Maximum Density Allowed" from Appendix 4.7 from planning.lacity.gov/plans-polici...
January 3, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Don't want to discourage anyone from subscribing, but I think you can get the density allowed by AB 1893 by multiplying "Parcel Size" and "Maximum Density Allowed" from Appendix 4.7 from planning.lacity.gov/plans-polici...
NYC subway map where the euclidean distance between two points tries to be proportional to the shortest-path travel time between the two stations (in minutes) (with actual map for comparison)
You can kind of make out where each borough is?
You can kind of make out where each borough is?
December 27, 2024 at 7:21 AM
NYC subway map where the euclidean distance between two points tries to be proportional to the shortest-path travel time between the two stations (in minutes) (with actual map for comparison)
You can kind of make out where each borough is?
You can kind of make out where each borough is?