#zoning-and-land-use

#zoning-and-land-use

Home prices have risen more than 50% since the pandemic. About a third of American households now spend more than 30% of their income on housing. In 2014, the median age of a first-time homebuyer was 31. In 2025, it was 40 the highest on record. The core of the problem is simple: Too much money chasing too few homes. How many more homes does America need? I've seen estimates ranging from 2 million to 5 million.

At first, the renderings looked like progress for the majority-Black town: glass-and-concrete buildings promising jobs, innovation, and a future rooted in Big Tech. But the fine print told a different story: a complex that would level 700 acres of forest, swallow nearly 2 million gallons of water a day, and draw enough electricity to power a city the size of Seattle. What officials pitched as transformation began to feel, to Simelton, like extraction.

The proposal submitted to Healdsburg by The Ruse Treatment, LLC, explained that the facility will target an "elite clientele" comprised of "affluent male and female professionals, offering a discreet, personalized recovery experience in a serene resort style estate." The "non-12-step, holistic program" will offer private suites and "gourmet dining" while integrating "evidence-based therapies like CBT and EMDR" - cognitive behavioral therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing - "with extensive one-on-one counseling and holistic practices such as yoga, meditation and acupuncture."