Jyotsna Raj on Compatible Development

Jyotsna Raj, a candidate for Boulder City Council, presented at last night's Boulder Real Estate Meetup. I specifically asked her to tell us about her position on compatible development because a recent interview suggested she might advocate for "locking down" redevelopment in certain neighborhoods, such as Martin Acres. The video is below.

First, here's a segment of the interview which sparked my concern (from Liberal and Loving It):

As Jyotsna says, if houses in Martin Acres cannot be expanded, then they will remain middle class. I think this is a very interesting approach. She's definitely right that if Martin Acres remodels are locked down, then the area will remain middle class. And legislation could probably be crafted that accomplishes this.

But this opens up the gigantic question of will the voters go for this? Because this will keep a lid on house prices and that means homeowners there will not see their property appreciate as much as it would otherwise. So will Boulder accept Martin Acres homeowners gaining less from their homes in return for keeping Boulder affordable? Which left me wondering if she really wanted to lock down neighborhoods like Martin Acres, simply to keep Boulder more affordable.

If you happen to own a small house in Martin Acres - the idea of preventing any further development is alarming. After all, a portion of the value of these houses, typically purchased at prices above $350,000, is due to their potential. Somehow, I didn't think that Jyotsna wanted to prevent owners from making their houses better, so I asked her to clarify.

Additionally, the question and answer session covered her thoughts on ADUs and making compatible development a ballot issue. Here's the video of Jyotsna Raj at last night's Boulder Real Estate Meetup:

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