The U.S. housing market is short at least... 760,000 for-sale housing units 760,000 for-rent housing units ... according to @FreddieMac economists resiclubanalytics.com/p/us-h…

Cities: requiring ground-floor retail is a lose-lose for tenants, landlords, and the community. If you don't have immediately accessible parking, and lots of it, or you don't have lots and lots of foot traffic, you are doing nothing but creating a vacant eyesore for the community. I understand you love the idea of people walking to grab their morning coffee, to their yoga studio, or to their hair salon. Trouble is - it just does not work in the vast majority of cases, and a one-size-fits-all approach is fantasy. People are not going to start walking up and down major boulevards because you think they will. Great retailers know better than to take a chance on those terrible spaces, and the naive tenants who do usually do not last long, and lose lots of money in the process. Housing developers do not have retail expertise, and they are building that D product just because you are forcing them to. So you have an inexperienced retail landlord building a poor product that great tenants will never want. I know that rendering looks great with all those people walking around, smiling with their friends, enjoying their morning coffee. Trouble is, that rendering is a fantasy. Just like the idea that this zoning law will create walkable communities.

If you're a YIMBY in a small or midsized city, you should reach out to your councilmember and let them know that you're interested in serving on commissions. Planning, zoning, design, preservation, etc. You'll be surprised how easily you can get appointed.