Our Future is Better with Multiplexes
April 4, 2023
We’re excited to see a growing movement in Bay Area communities to remove restrictive zoning and re-enable multi-unit development — like multiplexes! — in our neighborhoods.
We’re excited to see a growing movement in Bay Area communities to remove restrictive zoning and re-enable multi-unit development — like multiplexes! — in our neighborhoods. Towns across the Bay Area, from Berkeley to the Peninsula, are re-examining their zoning codes to consider allowing duplexes, triplexes, and quads to be built on existing lots that are currently limited to just one home. In many cases, this allows neighborhoods to again build the kinds of multi-unit homes that are already there — blending right in!
Read on for more about how our suburbs started, how they’re going, and how returning to our roots (when plexes were plentiful!) will help us address our current crises.
Plexes: The History
Visit older sections of any major city, and notice how the homes were built in the early 20th century. On first glance, it may be hard to tell that many of the buildings are actually multi-plexes! These neighborhoods often have “stealthy density” already built in. Many were built around old rail lines that have since been replaced by buses, and some of the homes have no parking at all. Many of the older multi-unit buildings would also be illegal to build today under current zoning codes, which in many places only allow a maximum of one unit per lot.
While some residents may prefer the luxury of single family homes and are welcome to continue doing so under expanded zoning, others may prefer to live in community with others to share maintenance and costs, or to enable intergenerational living — another “old” concept that’s more appealing than ever as Millennials, now well into their 30s, sort out how to work and care for children and their own parents at the same time.
What does our future look like with plexes? They provide us with:
More options:
One great thing about opening up restrictive zoning is that it provides property owners with more choices what to do with their land, not fewer:
- A young family may choose to build another unit on their lot for easy access to aging parents, or housing for another friend or family member to share costs
- Families with young adult children could add another unit for the child to live in as they get started in the workforce
- Retirees could add a unit or redevelop their home to provide rental income in retirement
- Friends could pool their resources to build and co-own a multi-unit building or share a plot of land
