Housing Policy
Christian Britschgi | 12.19.2023 7:00 AM
The year winds down, but housing news steams along here at Rent Free. This week's stories include:
But first, our lead item about a California couple who lost their fight with the state regulators ordering them to dismantle their home:
The two-story mobile home that Michael and Susan Christian own and live in in the Orange County beach community of San Clemente, California, isn't blighted, dangerous, ugly, or even unpopular with the neighbors.
But it is a little too tall, according to state officials with the California Coastal Commission.
For over a decade, the commission—a state agency with the final say over most development on the California coast—has been arguing that the Christians' addition of a second story to their home obscures ocean views from a nearby walking trail. It also argued the couple added that second story without getting the required permits from the commission.
Late last month, a California appeals court sided with the commission, ruling that the Christians must comply with its demands to shrink their house from its current 22 feet in height down to 16 feet. The Christians' representatives say that will require them to completely tear down and rebuild the home.
Rent Free is a weekly newsletter from Christian Britschgi on urbanism and the fight for less regulation, more housing, more property rights, and more freedom in America's cities.
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Christian Britschgi is a reporter at Reason.
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California Officials Force Elderly Couple To Dismantle Home, Citing Blocked Ocean Views
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19.12.2023
Housing Policy
Christian Britschgi | 12.19.2023 7:00 AM
The year winds down, but housing news steams along here at Rent Free. This week's stories include:
But first, our lead item about a California couple who lost their fight with the state regulators ordering them to dismantle their home:
The two-story mobile home that Michael and Susan Christian own and live in........
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