EHC Naysayer Rebuttals

Original Post: http://www.buildingbullcity.com/2020/05/ehc-naysayer-rebuttals.html

I'm curious why you wrote this now.  I agree with you on many of your points, but has there been an upswing in criticism of EHC?

I think the most stinging criticism is that it is a minor change that will have marginal (if generally favorable) effects.  There was a lot of staff work and a  lot of political kerfuffle for little benefit.  I asked myself this question frequently while participating in the process. I reasoned to myself that if this couldn't pass, then any more dramatic and effective change would have no future.  I do think the process energized people and hopefully will lead to a broader coalition of people working to making a more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable community.

Maybe the lack of effect will blunt future claims that changing building restrictions to allow for more dense, potentially more affordable, housing will not lead to the destruction of existing neighborhoods.

That is a fair question. The answer is no, there has not been an upswing. To be honest, I wrote this and the next post a while ago and since then it hasn't felt like an appropriate time and I finally said "well, I guess there won't be an appropriate time in the near future", and I do still think the content is important to think about (both for this post and the next one). So, I went ahead and posted it.

I agree with your assessment of the most stinging criticism and the answer you gave to yourself. Will this MAKE a huge change? Maybe not. Will this ALLOW and potentially LEAD to a big change? We can hope so! Thanks for posting!