YIMBY stands for "Yes In My Backyard." But it really should say " Yes In - Your- Backyard." YIMBY is a business, political and social consortium of pro-housing-density advocates who assert that any increasing the supply of housing will make it more affordable. This is despite the fact that all of the data and peer-reviewed economic research refute the notion that densifying residential neighborhoods makes them more affordable. The data also refutes the assertion that local zoning and land-use regulations make local residential neighborhoods less affordable. In fact, the data clearly shows the opposite impact, density engenders unaffordability. YIMBYs actively campaign against local zoning, such as single-family neighborhoods, and advocate for increased housing density in all neighborhoods, even multi-story apartment/condominium buildings in established single-family or rural neighborhoods. Among the restrictions their statewide mandates supersede are parking requirements, height restrictions, and setback requirements. So, projects they support are built upon the assumption that tenants will park their cars on the local neighborhood streets, whether that amount of parking is available or not. Neighborhoods' ability to accommodate the increased automobile traffic, water and sewer capacity demands, local school capacities, fire department, paramedic and police department capacity to ensure public safety, are all dismissed as irrelevant constraints, and have been made illegal to consider when placing a high-density residential project. Paying for these impacts of the increased density is forced upon, and shouldered by the original residents, the established neighbors. The required increase in taxes is one factor driving up local unaffordability as density is increased. YIMBY organizations are well-funded by concealed and anonymous sources. However, we might take a clue from the required disclosures of sources of campaign financing for the elected officials who push through the statewide YIMBY initiatives in the form of the hundreds of new laws over the past few years. These disclosures reveal large residential building companies, real-estate speculators and the building trade unions - those who gain financially by increasing the number of large building project opportunities. When we talk about YIMBY, we are talking about state control of local zoning. This is about a centralized planning scheme dictated by industry-funded politicians and corporate interests in faraway offices, even overseas investors. These are big corporations, private equity funds, speculators, building trades, materials suppliers, etc. It is central planning through Sacramento, and it does not work for our streets. YIMBY is about taking away power of the neighborhood to self-govern. It is the active push to deny that development decisions will be made at the local level, even though the consequences of building a new complex, changing a street, or altering the character of our community are felt by us—the people—directly and immediately. YIMBY has seized the authority to decide what happens to our homes, our infrastructure, and our quality of life. So, YIMBY is not just a phrase; it is a funded set of shills, lobbyists, propagandists and their bought-and-paid-for set of legislators in Sacramento. It’s the treatment of our community as just a piece of undeveloped land waiting to be exploited for profit. It’s the denial of your right, power, and responsibility to say "yes" or "no" to what happens on your own block, your own street, and your own backyard. YIMBY demands that your voice is silenced, and enforces, by law, zoning that reflects a distant corporate profit agenda and the profit opportunity of speculators, not the reality of your neighborhood.

NIMBY is short for "Not In My Backyard." And let's perfectly clear: it is a pejorative term. It’s not a neutral description; it’s a loaded label used by those outside our borders—by developers, by city planners, by outside interests—to dismiss legitimate concerns and local self-determination as mere selfishness or obstructionism. Now, where does this term come from? It’s not some slick, modern invention. The phrase itself has a history, stemming from a slightly older, more direct resistance to development. It evolved as a shorthand way for people in specific localities to assert their boundary and refuse to accept changes that affect their immediate environment. It’s fundamentally a reaction against top-down decisions being imposed upon established communities. The term first appeared in newspapers in February 1979 regarding nuclear waste disposal (Three Mile Island), likely popularized in the early 1980s by British politician Nicholas Ridley to describe community opposition to development. What NIMBYism really is, though, is the inherent, totally reasonable desire for local control . It’s the fundamental belief that the people who live here—the neighbors, the residents, the established community—have the primary, legitimate authority to decide what happens on our streets, what goes into our neighborhoods, and what kind of development is appropriate for us . We deserve that control. We are the ones who actually live here, and we know our community better than anyone. When someone labels us NIMBY, they are trying to dismiss our valid concerns—concerns about traffic, infrastructure strain, property values, and the character of our homes—as simply being selfish obstacles to progress. But we aren't obstacles; we are the community! We are the people who hold the real stake in this land. So, next time you hear that term, remember this: NIMBY isn't about being against progress; it’s about demanding that any progress be handled thoughtfully, responsibly, and with respect for the community that already exists. We don't want to be bypassed; we want to be heard. We want the power to regulate our own zoning and development decisions, right here, on our own turf. That is what we demand.

Builder’s Remedy A legal mechanism within the Housing Affordability Act (HAA) in the U.S. that can be applied in certain states to expedite the construction of low- or middle-income housing. It allows a developer to bypass or ignore most of the municipality's zoning laws and legally expedite development.

Surf City Tea Bringing important news and community to Huntington Beach for many years, Surf City Tea Party supports the core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets. Join SCT for great topics and speakers!

California Senate Bill Legislation, when proposed by the CA State Senate, is given a number/ID. For Example, SB79 is a proposed bill for transit-oriented development (TOD) that will allow near-unlimited development in many neighborhoods without local input.

Southern California Association of Governments SCAG is the largest metropolitan planning organization in the U.S. They are involved with planning and allocating RHNA numbers. SCAG is also involved with the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS).

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