Beverly Hills at a Standstill

You almost pity the rich and famous. James Freeman in the WSJ does. Who else is willing to stand up for what Mr. Freeman describes as the “least sympathetic group of property owners imaginable”? Who is going to stand up for the country’s most aggressive virtue signalers who are now paying a price for their political choices?

… remember that not all Californians vote for overbearing government. There’s also the argument that if you work hard and earn the money to buy a home—mansion or not—you damn well ought to be free to finish the basement. 

From Liam Dillon in the LA Times: 

Last month, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin blocked the city from issuing all building permits except for new residential development as a penalty for Beverly Hills’ failure to approve a sufficient blueprint for affordable housing.

Ramifications from No Affordable Housing 

Officials are appealing the decision and say they’re continuing to process permits as normal. But the potential ramifications on home and business owners and the construction industry have left civic leaders aghast.

“I’m shocked by the judgment,” said Murray Fischer, a real estate attorney who has practiced in Beverly Hills for 50 years. “It would mean that the city is at a standstill.”

The permit moratorium would be among the most concrete consequences of California’s attempts in recent years to push cities to allow for new housing, including in wealthy communities that have long resisted it.

Few if any places are more famous for their luxury than Beverly Hills, where entrepreneurs and entertainers – such as Jeff Bezos, Leonardo DiCaprio and Taylor Swift – own mansions, opulent hotels attract well-heeled visitors, and glamorous boutiques make Rodeo Drive one of the most expensive shopping strips in the world.

Yet growth has been nonexistent. In 1970, the population of Beverly Hills was 33,400. Today, it is 32,400. Over the same period, the number of California residents has doubled to nearly 40 million.

DiCaprio Forced to Move to Texas?

How will California encourage the creation of affordable housing without infringing upon the rights of the rich and famous to luxuriate?

Mr. Freeman also wonder, why politicians who talk so much about affordable living and spend so much on related programs have to go to such lengths trying to make affordable housing a reality?

They might consider how market choices could substitute for government commandments.