Zoning & HOA Insanity

Scott Doyon, writing for Placeshakers, on the ways zoning and HOA’s inhibit great places:

The answer, it seems, is rooted in the legacy of separated-use Euclidian zoning. Originally conceived to move noxious and dangerous activities away from where people live, it’s since mutated to now separate all of life’s daily activities — living, working, shopping, going to church, and educating our children — no matter how benign. Today, such policies have added up to countless places where two defining characteristics reign: simplicity and predictability.

[…]

Communities best positioned to thrive in an ever-changing world are those where governance is an exercise in balancing complexity. In contending with reality. That’s because, in the day-to-day life of a traditional city or town, people are forced to acknowledge and contend with others unlike themselves. It happens two people at a time as ideas are debated and alliances formed. It happens through a process of negotiation where diverse individuals concede their need for one another and explore equitable common ground from which to interact and collectively advance.

While there was an initial need for separating noxious uses from everyday life, Euclidian zoning has ceased to be useful and has, in actuality, become a hindrance to good places. I think Scott’s point about HOA’s extending that idea to an even more granular level is a good one. Diversity is the lifeblood of good places yet our current zoning and HOA practices are focused on simplicity and predictability at the expense of diversity and complexity.