Jay Leno’s star power wasn’t enough to persuade a California legislative committee to pass a measure to allow owners of classic cars like him to be exempted from the state’s rigorous smog-check requirements.
Imagine being rich and famous and this is your political cause. What an effing creep.
I definitely don’t think garages should be required or even normalized in high density neighborhoods. But I also don’t think they should be outlawed if someone wants to use their own space to store a classic car.
Ok so where did you get that we were saying that garages should be outlawed entirely? We’re just saying that too much space is dedicated, in general, to storing cars. Each person who’s “just one guy who wants a garage” adds up, and it’s not just classic car owners.
Now, a couple people with a garage won’t kill anyone but garages are absolutely normalized in low-density, single-family home suburbs and those places are huge tax drains for the cities they attach themselves to. They demand the same services and maintenance attention as urban areas but can’t afford it so they rip tax money away from elsewhere to subsidize their lifestyle. “No man is an island” means you gotta consider how your life impacts others and that we all gotta live together.
Either people are free to use their space for a garage, or you have to outlaw them in some way, maybe zoning? Who decides too much space? The city? I agree with you that they shouldn’t be required, maybe even that they shouldn’t be normalized. However, if someone wants to dedicate some of their yard space to a garage where a classic car is stored, I don’t think the city should get a say.
I think our views may be closer than you think. I don’t think ANY parking space should be mandated in most places as a part of zoning, nevermind garages. I just don’t differentiate between someone using their own space for a garage vs a garden or a wood shop.
Yes zoning, and yes the city. If someone has a backyard going to an alley then sure, maybe, but you’re not squeezing a garage onto an urban front yard. You wouldn’t even have space for just your car.
Garages take up a LOT of space. Way more than maybe you realize. A 16’ car would need a structure probably around 20’ long and 12-14’ wide to be worth anything and it would very likely not be able to be attached to the main building, requiring an even larger backyard. I’m not saying people don’t do it, but where it’s found it means that basically every building neighbouring it also needs a gigantic backyard.
If you want a garage there will be compromises to make. Maybe city living just isn’t your style, and that’s fine, but within a well-organized city a perfect setup full of all kinds of private space for personal hobbies just isn’t too reasonable. There are crappy suburbs and true rural living options out there and yea, you won’t get the benefits of mid- to high-density living but that’s the trade-off. My BRZ lives outside and that’s something I’m ok with given the other things I get.
So you want the city to outlaw them through zoning. I disagree that zoning should be used to determine approved uses of your own space.
I’m in architecture. “Uses of your own space” are still a collaborative thing, especially when you live close to other people. I am aware that a garage is not chemical storage but there is a line somewhere. The closer you live to other people the more you need to live with them, not simply near them. It’s a compromise we have to make.
Everything has this give and take. You get to have the most freedom when further away from others but you also don’t get the benefits of living closer to them and vice versa. And if you do get both it’s gunna cost ya since no one is entitled to get it all.