Wow. That's really insane. But I'm not surprised. During an interview for an article I once asked a long-time 'progressive' Council member about how much time he and his colleagues spent looking over the rules and regulations that controlled the city. He got a really surprised look on this face and said something to the effect of "I've never even thought about that. I suppose that says something about how Council works---."
Reminds me of my work in software development, where it's really eye-opening to sit down and watch a customer try to use the product. For local government it's probably the media that plays this role, by highlighting the experience of people who navigate regulations. Or in this case, Avi Barzelai was able to get his message across directly.
In Vancouver there's been an accumulation of layers of regulations added by subsequent councils. I vividly recall a public hearing for a rental high-rise where a councillor (Michael Wiebe) asked whether it'd be a good idea to require an assessment of the impact on physical and emotional well-being for every such project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb-7-e6KwGE&t=139m22s
This never went anywhere, but I was really struck by the casual nature of his question. When thinking about adding regulatory requirements like this, it's really important to figure out the costs (preparation time, staff time, delays in approval) as well as benefits.
Wow. That's really insane. But I'm not surprised. During an interview for an article I once asked a long-time 'progressive' Council member about how much time he and his colleagues spent looking over the rules and regulations that controlled the city. He got a really surprised look on this face and said something to the effect of "I've never even thought about that. I suppose that says something about how Council works---."
Reminds me of my work in software development, where it's really eye-opening to sit down and watch a customer try to use the product. For local government it's probably the media that plays this role, by highlighting the experience of people who navigate regulations. Or in this case, Avi Barzelai was able to get his message across directly.
In Vancouver there's been an accumulation of layers of regulations added by subsequent councils. I vividly recall a public hearing for a rental high-rise where a councillor (Michael Wiebe) asked whether it'd be a good idea to require an assessment of the impact on physical and emotional well-being for every such project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb-7-e6KwGE&t=139m22s
This never went anywhere, but I was really struck by the casual nature of his question. When thinking about adding regulatory requirements like this, it's really important to figure out the costs (preparation time, staff time, delays in approval) as well as benefits.