Anne Paulson
@annepaulson.bsky.social
YIMBY, cyclist
was Krampus Snail on the old site, still a snail when I ride my Krampus
was Krampus Snail on the old site, still a snail when I ride my Krampus
Trump hates offshore windmills but loves offshore oil platforms. I guess he worries about those dangerous wind leaks.
November 30, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Trump hates offshore windmills but loves offshore oil platforms. I guess he worries about those dangerous wind leaks.
When they said they'd do a feasibility study, I expected a spreadsheet with the right numbers in it. They delivered a spreadsheet where almost every number was wrong. Layer on layer of wrongness. Remarkable, really. /fin
November 29, 2025 at 7:50 PM
When they said they'd do a feasibility study, I expected a spreadsheet with the right numbers in it. They delivered a spreadsheet where almost every number was wrong. Layer on layer of wrongness. Remarkable, really. /fin
Physically infeasible: This 92-unit project has tuck-under parking, which means 116 garage entrances. And that means roads/driveways to get to all those doors. There is also a parking lot for 39 cars. This is all supposed to fit on the 2.5 acres the town allows as buildable space. It cannot fit. 4/5
November 29, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Physically infeasible: This 92-unit project has tuck-under parking, which means 116 garage entrances. And that means roads/driveways to get to all those doors. There is also a parking lot for 39 cars. This is all supposed to fit on the 2.5 acres the town allows as buildable space. It cannot fit. 4/5
Financially infeasible: The project purports to have a total development cost of $475K per unit, not counting land costs. This appears to ignore the cost of grading the very steep parcel, and building a .7 mile sewer connection from the existing sewer under a road to the site. $$$. Oops. 3/5
November 29, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Financially infeasible: The project purports to have a total development cost of $475K per unit, not counting land costs. This appears to ignore the cost of grading the very steep parcel, and building a .7 mile sewer connection from the existing sewer under a road to the site. $$$. Oops. 3/5
Legally infeasible: The analyzed project has units of 750 net square feet, 900 gross square feet. Too big: Los Altos Hills allows an average of only 750 *gross* square feet. (Which is absurdly small.)
The town requires 1.7 parking spaces per unit. Barely more space for people than for cars. 2/5
The town requires 1.7 parking spaces per unit. Barely more space for people than for cars. 2/5
November 29, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Legally infeasible: The analyzed project has units of 750 net square feet, 900 gross square feet. Too big: Los Altos Hills allows an average of only 750 *gross* square feet. (Which is absurdly small.)
The town requires 1.7 parking spaces per unit. Barely more space for people than for cars. 2/5
The town requires 1.7 parking spaces per unit. Barely more space for people than for cars. 2/5
It’s scary. I’ve sat in that coffeehouse many times. Luckily it was Thanksgiving night and nobody was there. An ordinary night at that time, there would’ve been carnage.
November 29, 2025 at 4:24 PM
It’s scary. I’ve sat in that coffeehouse many times. Luckily it was Thanksgiving night and nobody was there. An ordinary night at that time, there would’ve been carnage.
Grizzly bear, about 15 feet away
Sounder of feral pigs, rode my bike around the corner and was in the middle of them
Mountain lion, on the trail ahead of me
Elk, blocking my path on the trail, stayed forever it seemed and I wanted to get home
Coyote trotting insouciantly down the street
Sounder of feral pigs, rode my bike around the corner and was in the middle of them
Mountain lion, on the trail ahead of me
Elk, blocking my path on the trail, stayed forever it seemed and I wanted to get home
Coyote trotting insouciantly down the street
November 29, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Grizzly bear, about 15 feet away
Sounder of feral pigs, rode my bike around the corner and was in the middle of them
Mountain lion, on the trail ahead of me
Elk, blocking my path on the trail, stayed forever it seemed and I wanted to get home
Coyote trotting insouciantly down the street
Sounder of feral pigs, rode my bike around the corner and was in the middle of them
Mountain lion, on the trail ahead of me
Elk, blocking my path on the trail, stayed forever it seemed and I wanted to get home
Coyote trotting insouciantly down the street
Was the coffee shop wearing hi viz? No it was not.
November 29, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Was the coffee shop wearing hi viz? No it was not.
Sigh, another garbage bike rack. Why yes, I did want to chip the paint on my bike because you morons couldn’t install staples.
November 26, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Sigh, another garbage bike rack. Why yes, I did want to chip the paint on my bike because you morons couldn’t install staples.
Adding more National Guard members. Way to inflame the situation while doing nothing useful.
November 26, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Adding more National Guard members. Way to inflame the situation while doing nothing useful.
I wish they were watching Los Altos Hills too.
November 26, 2025 at 9:26 PM
I wish they were watching Los Altos Hills too.
They've been raising prices for everyone, not just people who get tax credits.
November 26, 2025 at 9:20 PM
They've been raising prices for everyone, not just people who get tax credits.
No. So the insurer can't raise their prices. Also, the tax credit is different for each person. For some people, it's $0. For some people, it's $1000/month or even more.
November 26, 2025 at 9:06 PM
No. So the insurer can't raise their prices. Also, the tax credit is different for each person. For some people, it's $0. For some people, it's $1000/month or even more.
I wonder if ChatGPT was involved in the writing of that article. Would an actual Burlingame resident suggest that local workers live in Colma? I'm imagining an army of skeletons commuting every day to Burlingame, and then at night returning to their coffins in Colma, the city of the dead.
November 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
I wonder if ChatGPT was involved in the writing of that article. Would an actual Burlingame resident suggest that local workers live in Colma? I'm imagining an army of skeletons commuting every day to Burlingame, and then at night returning to their coffins in Colma, the city of the dead.
"The only thing I care about is the welfare of my son..." and that's why he want to send his mother to another continent. Did anyone ask the kid?
November 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM
"The only thing I care about is the welfare of my son..." and that's why he want to send his mother to another continent. Did anyone ask the kid?
HCD sent Newport Beach a letter saying if the city did what is called for in the initiative, HCD could revoke their compliance, making them subject to Builder’s Remedy. The implication of the letter is HCD *would* revoke.
November 26, 2025 at 7:53 AM
HCD sent Newport Beach a letter saying if the city did what is called for in the initiative, HCD could revoke their compliance, making them subject to Builder’s Remedy. The implication of the letter is HCD *would* revoke.
They should have already done their housing element rezoning. I’m not sure if they have.
November 26, 2025 at 7:32 AM
They should have already done their housing element rezoning. I’m not sure if they have.
They plan to zone the areas only for affordable housing, not market-rate housing. Strangely (not at all strangely), the plan doesn’t include any money to build that affordable housing, just the virtue-signaling rezoning.
November 26, 2025 at 7:23 AM
They plan to zone the areas only for affordable housing, not market-rate housing. Strangely (not at all strangely), the plan doesn’t include any money to build that affordable housing, just the virtue-signaling rezoning.
Continuous improvement? The artistic bike racks never improve things.
November 26, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Continuous improvement? The artistic bike racks never improve things.
I often think about this. A round parking space. A parking space with a tree in the middle. How about a parking space with a moat? Maybe decorative spikes in the middle.
November 26, 2025 at 3:33 AM
I often think about this. A round parking space. A parking space with a tree in the middle. How about a parking space with a moat? Maybe decorative spikes in the middle.
Los Altos Hills, Portola Valley, Woodside, Atherton—those are the places with the most expensive houses, by far.
November 26, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Los Altos Hills, Portola Valley, Woodside, Atherton—those are the places with the most expensive houses, by far.