Also, on an entirely different note, Ken the first year I lived in Del Ray, I did not know about the Halloween ride, and being surprised by it was one of the greatest delights I've ever had.
No need to hak mir nit keyn chinik. These bills are anti-regulatory garbage, and I don't see why we're expected to pretend it's not.
Understood. I didn't think I was being leading, but I totally was, and I see how disrespectful that is. Sorry to overstep.
Right, but this bill is zero-sum. It eases the way for supply-side housing at the expense of an opportunity for subsidized units. As I mentioned in a different thread, it's not secret knowledge that the organization claiming responsibility for this bill is opposed to inclusionary zoning.
The bottom line for me is that the lovely legislation tracker on your website was paid for by the same people paying to lobby for targeting encampments and deregulation for short-term rentals. If that doesn't give you pause, we won't find much common ground.
You are working with partners who are actively trying to confuse building housing with building affordable housing. I see the value in coalition building, but this bill is a great example of co-option.
You're definitely right that we're not going to resolve this online, and I should go to bed. I really owe you an apology for any implication that you or YIMBYs for NoVA are malicious. I think you do good work. But this is not going to be your winning argument.
I suspect the council opposes the bill because it eliminates one of the few avenues they have for encouraging developers to build affordable units. Being written by a real estate development trade group may also contribute. I have faith that @ryanbelmore.bsky.social will wake up and get the scoop.
In summary, I apologize to Alex and everyone for being a jerk. I should have been more chill. In the future, I will do my best to be polite here. Unfortunately, I am not capable of being chill.
My immediate sense of ALX skeets was it's a good place to talk to funny people who want a better city for everyone. If I misread the room and the consensus here is that we should cheerfully join moneyed interests in gutting government, as long as we're chill and ride bikes, I will gladly leave.
Alex was solicitous and pleasant until I shared a document that demonstrated the intended function of this bill. Rather than engage, he tried to shut down the conversation. I am new here, but I am not new to the world.
I am being rude, and I am sorry that I brought a lot of negativity to what does seem like a very pleasant little corner of the internet.
I still feel that Alex is being just as nasty, if more civil. I do not think there is a nice way to side with corporate interests against affordable housing.
I can't argue that I'm being a dick. I should have asked about the vibe first. Had I known that we're supposed to be cool with the kind YIMBYism driven by corporate interests and generally indifferent to all other social impacts, I wouldn't have made myself so comfortable.
Yep, just here to shift topics and work for the landlords. Got it!
No wonder Jesse Singal has the time to ride Jamelle Bouie's jock so hard. Someone else is covering the terf beat for The Atlantic now.
Oh, I really should read bios more closely. I didn't realize I was talking to the local chief of the useful idiots.
I just upped to a paid subscription last week, in support of Ryan's steadfast journalism and his shockingly rare willingness to not work with Nazis.
I didn't realize I was talking to an LNN connoisseur. Pinkies up while we enjoy our content slop!
Thanks for educating me! Local News Now firing Ryan Belmore turned into a blessing (because he's good), and I wish the same blessing (if not for the same reason).
I would love to do that! You definitely have a lot to teach me about the housing legislation landscape, and I have a lot to tell you about YIMBY Action and their associated organizations.
I'm not reflexively anti-developer, but the HBAV is explicitly against inclusionary zoning, not to mention anti-Union, against family and medical league expansion and supports all domestic oil drilling. The more I read, the more it's clear this is a poison pill. www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB...
I agree that it sounds like a stupid plan, but also appears to be exactly what he's doing. www.ffxnow.com/2026/02/27/b...
The bill was developed with the Home Builder's Association of Virginia. This is AstroTurf.
I don't think this generality is true here. The cities in VA have broad-based support for housing and elected officials eager to act. I think the only place this legislation would improve zoning is Loudon, unless there's a sprawl-loving Tidewater county.
I tried to write Dan Helmer twice, but autocorrect won the war. I suspect this is a cynical bid for him to have a good talking point campaigning for VA-07, not something that is well-designed to improve housing prices.
We're all just speculating, but I agree with Elena. The City is deeply limited in how they can control zoning by state law, and any developer concessions are voluntary. Dan Helmet is taking a promising, targeted Fairfax policy and forcing adoption. It's an easy win for him, but bad legislation.
I also don't know anything about anything, but I think the Dillon rule is the major limiting factor in zoning for housing, so a bill that doesn't give municipalities any increased control over zoning is probably not really designed to help.
You're clearly a closer reader of him than I am. Good thing Local News Now is an unreliable employer, I guess.
Definitely not a slam on Scott McCaffrey. He's an expert at the seasoned journalist's trick of accurately quoting people when they're not being as clever as they think they are.
Yeah, it always seemed weird to me that Smarch is after December.
We really should have a meeting about those calendars ACPS bought.
No, she finds that out in the third act of the movie, immediately after she takes off her glasses and lets down her hair.
