LA's Secret (Banned) Neighborhood Stores #urbanplanning

#shorts on the secret, illegal (due to zoning) restaurants and stores in #losangeles that can be found in residential areas. But they are getting legalized soon!

[lej_explains]

Extra BG: The County voted in May this year to start allowing anyone to operate a mini-restaurant, coffee-shop, etc out of their home in all residential areas. Starting in November, people can start applying for permits, but it comes with big restrictions.

Some make sense like a yearly inspection but others include a cap on revenue to 100k a year and no more than 30 meals a day, ban on delivery apps, and 1 outside-of family employee limit.

[owtkast]

Euclidean zoning is a blight on this country. One of the things people love about Europe is being able to leave your hotel and immediately get something to eat, do some shopping, etc.

[j.r.]

residential only zoning sucks. a bunch of dead neighborhoods that people can only use cars 99% of the time

[nilsp]

Zoning (and parking) laws in the US need a complete overhaul. I don't think incremental changes will do the trick. There is so much to gain!

[RichyArg]

The only kind of "zoning" that makes sense is for noise polluting businesses like clubs, events halls, race tracks, etc to not be allowed too close to residential areas, everything else is stupid.

[麻理ン]

this is so strange, coming from a culture like mine where local businesses in neighborhoods are a big part of our identity, no wonder why Walmart, target and other big companies are so big, they legislate their competition away

[stink]

Bring back the neighborhood business! Zoning has destroyed the cities in the US and that's why most people in the US must go to an old, more zoning city or Europe to experience a thing we used to call a "place".

[ironqqq]

In counties like Japan you can open a business anywhere. So not uncommon to see a business in between houses and apartments.

[flarp]

México is designed this way and it's awesome

You can get a liter of milk, tortillas, and snacks
at a tiny corner shop at a price comparable to a Mexican Walmart at almost any time of day and it makes neighborhoods feel like places rather liminal spaces between your home and the strip mall

[KBMVPEVER]

I’ve always wondered about this. Always assumed it was just the business owner’s address and they had a storefront elsewhere. Good stuff.

[SkyDraco]

In other countries people would turn their first floor into a business and live upstairs. Its a good idea for people starting a business and just thinking about the commute to work itself is already a big plus!

[DallasCrane]

Zoning should really only exist to separate physically dangerous industries from the public. Not commercial and residential

[KaiRex]

my european ass can not comprehend living like this

[Xccr]

European here. Yeah I really dont het the logic behind any this like it honestly feels like America is shooting itself in the leg with this kind of bad planning.

[zhess]

This is why economically, urban planning in LA has been a mess. Suburbanization and single-use zoning encourages traffic. It encourages automobile usage, gas usage, and discrimination. By encouraging mix use developments, many of these issues could be lessened.

[johnskeff]

Thank God. We need to do away with zoning laws. Cities like New Orleans don’t have zoning laws and you can literally find some of the best shops and restaurants smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood. As a result you end up having tons of great stuff within walking distance no matter where you’re going and he pretty much even spread of businesses throughout any given part of the city.

[joseph]

zoning rules are why American cities are awful and unwalkable.

[JakeAoTK]

My neighborhood is already like this. Legal or not lmao.

You can shop for clothes, get food, hail a taxi, or pickup some produce and laundry detergent.

Everyone is really nice. Crime is low compared to other parts of LA too and increasingly is becoming more walkable.

[carlyprice]

In other places around the country, these are called cottages industries with strict guidelines. Chimney cleaning was a perfect example, where customers would not be coming and going for the business.

[michaelashby]

Its not zoning that makes America so unlivable, its that we can't change it that makes America unlivable.