As many families are going back to basics and doing without excess expenditures, maybe it is time to take an honest look at cities requiring minimum sq. ft. requirements for new homes and minimum requirements for open space, etc.

Look at some of the older homes in the north end that people love and yet we can't build them today!  Even though I have not seen it in print anywhere, it is almost an unwritten law that if a developer tries to get a plat approved in Meridian that allows single family homes under 1,400 sq. ft. it won't get approved.  I remember when I first started with new home sales, they had plats allowing 900 sq. ft., then it moved to 1,000 to 1,100, etc.

Cities have increased landscaping requirements, open space requirements, larger lot sizes, etc. to the point that the developement fees and costs alone amount to about $35,000 in Ada County per lot!

Since I don't see that changing any time soon, it may be time for more condo plats consisting of entry level homes.  We don't really need any more high rise view condos downtown right now.  

Should the cities be the ones to decide if you have vinyl siding or not?  Should they dictate if the home is astetically correct or not?  Should they be able to say that only people that can afford a certain size home should be allowed to build a new home in their jurisdiction?  

I say absolutely not!  I am a firm believer in a fair market economy and know if people can afford something nicer, they will seek it out.  However, if they have to move to Melba or Middleton because they can't afford it here in Ada County and yet they drive to work tying up the interstate paying the money they saved on their homes on gasoline and vehicle upkeep and maintenance, did anyone really win?

What would have happened if the person that was allowed to build the one bedroom home I used to own while attending Boise State University wasn't allowed to have built it?  Would I have had to consider going to school somewhere else because I couldn't afford to live here?  Instead, that modest home allowed me a place to start and since then I have upgraded several times into my current home and rentals myself.

Jim Paulson, CRS, GRI - Owner / Broker - Progressive Realty Corporation

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