City passes moratorium on lot splits: Temporary urgency ordinance in San Carlos while city officials look at residential zoning rules – See more at:
……..The city has received numerous emails and correspondence from residents complaining about homes being too big on lots that are too small…….“This is the will of residents. From what I’ve heard they want to maintain that small-town feel and this is a step toward doing this,” Mayor Cameron Johnson said.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2016-06-30/city-passes-moratorium-on-lot-splits-temporary-urgency-ordinance-in-san-carlos-while-city-officials-look-at-residential-zoning-rules/1776425164302.html
Good Growth San Carlos is a group of San Carlos residents concerned with residential overbuilding that is changing the character and livability of our city. We want to promote sensible development and ensure that revisions made tot he city zoning ordinance align with the desires, needs, and values of all San Carlos residents.
Find out more at http://www.goodgrowthsc.org/
‘Help, a McMansion Is Going Up Next Door!’
Big homes – big problem
What’s going on in Mountain View is an extreme version of a problem cropping up all over the country: Huge houses are being built on plots of land originally meant to accommodate smaller dwellings, sparking a heated debate over what’s best for the community. Some argue that owners of larger homes pay more taxes, which can benefit all. But if your home happens to have its air and light blocked by a behemoth next door, you would likely be very, very upset—and can most likely kiss the idea of cashing out on your home sale goodbye.
http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/mcmansion-next-door/
Proposal to ban two-story houses splits Palo Alto neighbors
“If I built a second story on my house, I might be able to sell it for more money, but at least six neighbors would be negatively impacted by the loss of privacy and daylight AND the value of their houses would likely be diminished, at least until they too built up. The single story overlay is essential to maintain our neighborhood.”
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/04/15/proposal-to-ban-two-story-houses-splits-palo-alto-neighbors
Group says it will sue over city development
A group of Redwood City residents are preparing to file a lawsuit to slow the massive development in Redwood City, an attorney told the Post yesterday.
From: NewsBank — service provider for
Daily Post Archives<newslibrary@newsbank.com>
Date: Tue, Aug 30, 2016 at 1:25 PM
Subject: Daily Post (Palo Alto) Document, Author: EMILY MIBACH, Daily Post Staff Writer
Copyright, 2016, Daily Post, L.L.C., All Rights Reserved.
Record Number: 15F1690E93763B50
Homes are bigger than ever. Now there’s a backlash against the ‘mansionization’ of America.
Back in 1950, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the average new house clocked in at 963 square feet. By 1970, that figure had swollen to 1,500 square feet. Today’s average: 2,400 square feet. One in five are more than 3,000 square feet.
Oddly, as houses expanded, the number of household members shrank, from 3.1 people in 1971 to 2.6 people today. The average building-lot size contracted also, to about 8,000 square feet from 9,000 in the 1980s.
http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/18/real_estate/monster_home_backlash/
Invasion of the Monster Homes / Silicon Valley trend spreads — raze a small house, build a mansion.
A mansion used to require two acres, not just a 5,000-square-foot lot,” said urban designer Peter Calthorpe, who has offices in Berkeley and Portland. “But (in Silicon Valley), proximity to work and not being stuck in traffic are valuable, and people have to express their wealth. That is the fundamental mix.”
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Invasion-of-the-Monster-Homes-Silicon-Valley-2898908.php
Big Houses Are Not Green: America’s McMansion Problem
The recent mansion boom produced millions of energy-wasting homes with thousands of square feet that Americans don’t need — not the behavior of a society that’s thinking about a sustainable future.
http://www.alternet.org/story/61523/big_houses_are_not_green%3A_america’s_mcmansion_problem
DATA PROVES MONSTER HOUSE EPIDEMIC IN NOE VALLEY
In Noe Valley, the typical monster house project creates a new structure of 4,000 to 8,000 square feet on a block where houses average less than 2,000 square feet. Peterkofsky added, “Clearly, one key way that monster houses disturb the feel of the neighborhood is by overwhelming the scale of the surrounding homes, typically far less than half the size of the new structure.”
http://protectnoescharm.com/resources/press_release_monster_house_data.html
Burbank Passes Limits on ‘McMansions’
A decade ago, the city enacted similar restrictions on residential construction. But in recent years, rising land values and low interest rates have provided powerful motivation for developers and homeowners to find and exploit loopholes in that earlier law that allow for much larger structures than were intended, a city staff report said.
http://labusinessjournal.com/news/2015/apr/01/burbank-passes-limits-mcmansions/
Corona Heights: Testing Ground For Effort To Block More ‘Monster Homes’
Large new home developments have been mostly blocked in the area, due to legislation sponsored by District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener that passed last March. Weiss and others say they are open to new developments that “fit” the scope of existing houses.
http://hoodline.com/2016/02/corona-heights-testing-ground-for-effort-to-block-more-monster-homes
‘McMansion’ crackdown war wins first battle in LAHomes
Jan Reichmann, a real estate agent and resident of Comstock Hills in Westwood, said her neighborhood “has been ravaged by aggressive speculators, tearing (down homes) and creating duplicate mansions.”
“Don’t be fooled by those who say the older homes are not big enough for today’s lifestyle,” she told the commission. “Once a house is torn down next to you, your house is immediately devalued,” with natural lighting and privacy reduced.
http://mynewsla.com/government/2016/07/15/mcmansion-crackdown-war-wins-first-battle-in-la/
No more ‘McMansions’ in Los Angeles for two years, says council
The new rules came amid a “proliferation of out-of-scale developments that threaten the cohesion and character” of neighborhoods, a city report states.
http://www.dailynews.com/government-and-politics/20150325/no-more-mcmansions-in-los-angeles-for-two-years-says-council
Ask Belmont Citizens 
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